Diurnal variations in admissions to acute psychiatry

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate diurnal variations in admissions to acute psychiatry. Method: The registration of 2,763 submissions were conducted from 1 April 2015 to 31 December 2017 at the University Hospital of North Norway by completing a form for every admission. Results: The results revealed that the majority of the admissions took place at evening and night time. There were significantly (p = .001) more admissions at evening and night time. Results revealed that 21.5% (539) of admissions occurred between 00:00 and 08:00, whereas 27.5% (758) of admissions occurred between 08:00 and16:00 and 51% (1,409) of admissions occurred between 16:00 and 00:00. Conclusion: The causes behind this distribution of admissions should be investigated in future studies and should ask the patients about reasons for the late admissions. Keywords: Diurnal variations, admissions, acute psychiatry