Care, treatment and rehabilitation in forensic psychiatry (CAREFOR)

There exists huge gaps of knowledge within forensic psychiatric care and treatment. CAREFOR is an explorative, longitudinal follow-up study of patients sentenced to forensic psychiatric care and placed at the Forensic Psychiatric Clinic at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. We follow the patients using a battery of clinical examinations, tests of physical performances, blood samples, ratings scales and tests of cognitive abilities once every six months during the first year and then once every year for ten years. The overall aim of the study is to describe the recovery pathways of forensic psychiatric patients and to form a basis for treatment studies, with pharmaceutical agents and other interventions, with regard to psychiatric symptoms, cognitive functions, aggressiveness and physical health.