Barriers and Benefits in Elderly Forensic Psychiatric Care in Iraq: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Objective: To determine the Barriers and Benefits of providing elderly forensic mental health care in Iraq.

Study Design: Descriptive study design through using (Non probability) convenience sampling.

Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted at the center of the city of Mosul is College of Nursing, University of Mosul, from 1 April to 28 April 2025.

Methods: Was conducted to determine the Barriers and Benefits in Elderly Forensic Psychiatric Care in Iraq, from 1 April to 28 April 2024. While the number of sample used in this study was (106) people, including (74) female and (32) male. Data analysis is done with the "Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software for Windows (Version 26)".

Results: This result indicates that the majority of the study sample consisted of individuals 53 years older; 71.69% of the sample of 61 and 70; the percentage of female participants was higher than that of male participants by 69.81%); 75.47% of the sample was married; and 86.79% of the sample had chronic illnesses. Ultimately, a sizable portion (64.15%) had some form of mental illness.

Conclusion: This investigation found that the benefits of the obstacles related to forensic psychological care were less than expected, while the benefits of forensic mental health care were clearly and naturally acceptable, especially for the elderly.