Experiences with Involuntary Mental Health Admissions Among Service Users with Intellectual Disabilities: A Qualitative Study

Introduction Service users with intellectual disabilities (SUID) represent a complex healthcare population at high risk for involuntary mental health admissions (IMHA). We aimed to explore experiences with IMHA among SUID from the perspectives of both SUID and healthcare professionals.Methods A qualitative study, informed by the Critical Appraisal Skills Programme (CASP) checklist for qualitative studies, was conducted.Results Following the analysis, three main themes and one sub-theme emerged: (1) Need for a professional, equitable and honest encounter; (2) SUID as a pawn in disjointed cooperation; (3) Inadequacy of the healthcare system for SUID; and (3.1) Challenges of having an intellectual disability diagnosis.Conclusion SUID face significant risks of inadequate mental health care due to insufficiently tailored approaches to their needs. Addressing this requires enhanced professional competence and interdisciplinary collaboration. Further research is needed to deepen understanding of SUID experiences to validate and generalize these insights in the context to IMHA.