Background Compulsory admissions occur in psychiatric hospitals around the world. They result in coercive and sometimes traumatic experiences for service users and carers. Legal and service reforms in various countries are intended to reduce rates of detention and improve service user experience. We aimed to inform policy and service delivery by providing an up-to-date synthesis of qualitative evidence on service usersʼ and carersʼ experiences of assessment and detention under mental health legislation, updating previous reviews in which we searched for literature published up to 2018. Methods We searched five bibliographic databases for studies published between January 2018 and March 2023. We identified 24 additional studies reporting qualitative investigations of service usersʼ or carersʼ experiences of assessment or detention under mental health legislation. A team including researchers with relevant personal experience analysed and synthesised data using a thematic synthesis approach. Results Findings suggest that views on compulsory admissions and assessment varied: many reports highlighted its often negative, traumatic impacts on emotional well-being and self-worth, with fewer accounts of it as an opportunity to access help and support, accompanied by feelings of relief. Experiences of racial discrimination, inequality of access, and dissatisfaction with support before and after hospital stay were more prominent than in our previous reviews. Conclusions Increasing service user and carer involvement in treatment decisions, provision of timely information at key stages of the admission process, training of key personnel, addressing the issue of discrimination, and investing in community alternatives of inpatient care may contribute to and lead to better overall treatment experiences.

The authors have declared no competing interest.

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This paper is based on independent research commissioned and funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research Policy Research Programme, though the NIHR Policy Research Unit for Mental Health. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the National Health Service, the National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Department of Health and Social Care or its armʼs length bodies, and other Government Departments.

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