seclusion restraints

Psychiatric wards that only exceptionally use isolation and mechanical restraint may be suspected of using "chemical restraint". However, in the case of these services, the hypothesis of a reduction in the general level of restraint can also be formulated. Prior to a comprehensive study to test these hypotheses, the current research aims to assess indicators which define high levels of the use of these measures and a relevant sample. The study was conducted in three facilities with 254 hospitalized patients over a week...

UNLABELLED: WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: The use of restrictive interventions is described as a violation of patients' rights and autonomy. It must only be used as a last resort to manage dangerous behaviour, to prevent or reduce the risk of mental health patients harming themselves or others. International mental health policy and legislation agree that when restrictive interventions are applied, the least restrictive alternative should be chosen. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The results are ambiguous, as to which restrictive intervention is preferred over others, but there are tendencies towards the majority preferring observation, with mechanical restraint being the least preferred...

Seclusion is a form of restraint practised in mental health services world-wide, and has been criticised as unethical and traumatising to patients. Several countries have committed to reducing or eliminating seclusion. In New Zealand, there has been a focus on reducing seclusion of the indigenous Māori population, who experience particularly high rates. Nurses typically lead decisions to place patients in seclusion and their attitudes towards seclusion likely influence this process. This study aimed to address the primary question: what are the attitudes of registered nurses towards the use of seclusion? A mixed methods pragmatic approach was used involving qualitative interviews of nurses working in a high seclusion mental health ward located in the North Island of New Zealand, and a quantitative analysis of the seclusion data from this ward...

Restraint, often linked with limiting an individual's freedom of movement, has become a focal point of extensive discussion and evaluation within the realm of mental healthcare. Striking a delicate balance between ensuring individual safety and minimizing reliance on restraint methods poses a significant challenge. In mental health inpatient settings, the prevalent forms of restraint encompass physical, chemical, environmental, and psychological methods. Paradoxically, the consequences of employing restraint can be severe, ranging from injuries and cognitive decline to sedation and, in extreme cases, fatalities...

While COVID-19 impacted all aspects of health care and patient treatment, particularly for patients with mental health/substance use (MH/SU) concerns, research has suggested a concerning increase in the use of restraint and seclusion (R/S) interventions, although results vary depending on facility type and patient population. Thus, the present study sought to explore COVID-related changes in the use of R/S interventions among patients presenting to Ontario emergency departments (EDs) with MH/SU complaints. To determine whether temporal and clinical factors were associated with changes in R/S use during COVID, binary logistic regression models were computed using data from the National Ambulatory Care Reporting System database...

BACKGROUND: The elimination of restrictive practices, such as seclusion and restraint, is a major aim of mental health services globally. The role of art therapy, a predominantly non-verbal mode of creative expression, is under-explored in this context. This research aimed to determine whether art therapy service provision was associated with a reduction in restrictive practices on an acute inpatient child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) unit. METHODS: The rate (events per 1,000 occupied bed days), frequency (percent of admitted care episodes with incident), duration, and number of incidents of restrictive practices occurring between July 2015 and December 2021 were analysed relative to art therapy service provision...

BACKGROUND: Coercion perceived by psychiatric inpatients is not exclusively determined by formal measures such as involuntary admissions, seclusion or restraint, but is also associated with patients' characteristics and professionals' attitude. AIMS: This study examined how inpatients' involvement in the decision making process, the respect of their decision making preference, and their feeling of having been treated fairly mediate the relationship between involuntary hospitalisation and perceived coercion both at admission and during hospital stay...

BACKGROUND: Open-door policy is a recommended framework to reduce coercion in psychiatric wards. However, existing observational data might not fully capture potential increases in harm and use of coercion associated with open-door policies. In this first randomised controlled trial, we compared coercive practices in open-door policy and treatment-as-usual wards in an urban hospital setting. We hypothesised that the open-door policy would be non-inferior to treatment-as-usual on the proportion of patients exposed to coercive measures...

OBJECTIVES: To explore the effect of switching from an oral antipsychotic to a long-acting injectable (LAI) antipsychotic on aggression, in terms of the changes of verbal and physical aggression, interventions required, self-injurious behavior, use of seclusion or restraint, antipsychotic medication refusal, and use of antipsychotics as needed (PRN). METHODS: This was a retrospective chart review at a long-term state forensic psychiatric facility. Patients treated with an oral antipsychotic for at least 6 months and then switched to a LAI antipsychotic for an additional 6 months during an 80-month period were included...

INTRODUCTION: Seclusion or restraint (S/R) are last-resort measures used in psychiatry to ensure the safety of the patient and the staff. However, they have harmful physical and psychological effects on patients, and efforts to limit their use are needed. We describe the characteristics and correlates of S/R events in four Parisian psychiatric centers. METHODS: Within a 3-month period, November 5, 2018 to February 3, 2019, we recorded data for patients experiencing an S/R measure as well as characteristics of the measures...

BACKGROUND: Coercive interventions continue to be applied frequently in psychiatric care when patients are at imminent risk of harming themselves and/or others. AIM: The purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationship between the length of coercion and a variety of factors, including the sociodemographic background of patients, their diagnoses and the characteristics of hospital staff. METHODS: This is a one-year cross-sectional retrospective study, including records of 298 patients who underwent restraint and/or seclusion interventions in male acute, closed wards in two psychiatric hospitals in Israel...

This article examines the reasons behind the limited impact of China's mental health law reform in 2013 on reducing the use of restrictive measures in mental health services, focusing on the analysis of case law from Chinese courts. The analysis of collected rulings from the official database indicates that Chinese courts have adopted a lenient approach in scrutinizing the application of restrictive measures. Furthermore, the interpretation and application of the provisions related to restrictive measures in the law have led to service providers being held liable in numerous cases for not implementing such measures...

BACKGROUND: Containment (e.g. physical restraint and seclusion) is used frequently in mental health inpatient settings. Containment is associated with serious psychological and physical harms. De-escalation (psychosocial techniques to manage distress without containment) is recommended to manage aggression and other unsafe behaviours, for example self-harm. All National Health Service staff are trained in de-escalation but there is little to no evidence supporting training's effectiveness...

BACKGROUND: Legislators often want to positively affect psychiatric inpatient care and reduce coercion by a stricter judicial regulation. However, staff experiences and comprehension of such legal changes are largely unknown, yet essential in obtaining the intended outcomes. We examined staff understanding and implementation of a July 1, 2020 legal change in Sweden regarding the use of coercive measures (e.g., restraint, seclusion, and forced medication) in child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient care...

BACKGROUND: There is a growing consensus to reduce the use of restrictive care practices in mental health settings to minimise the physical and psychological complications for patients. However, data regarding restrictive care practice use and factors contributing to variations in the proportion estimates has not previously been synthesised. AIMS: This study aimed to synthesise evidence on (1) the pooled proportions of physical restraint, seclusion or chemical restraint in adult mental health inpatients and (2) sources of variability in these proportion estimates...

UNLABELLED: WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Mental health services report adverse incidents in different ways and the relationship between adverse incidents and the workforce is uncertain. In England, there are national datasets recording all incidents and workforce statistics though there is no peer-reviewed evidence examining recent trends. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: Although there has been an overall increase in the number of mental health nurses, more are working in the community and the number of nurses relative to adverse incidents has decreased...

Service users and their families have raised concerns about safety in current acute mental health service delivery. Restrictive interventions are routinely used across mental health settings despite increasing awareness of the negative impacts. Underfunding and risk-averse management practices are implicated as key challenges. Utilizing a scoping review and thematic analysis method, this review explored the existing literature of mental health staff perspectives across various settings (including psychiatric wards and emergency departments), focusing on their experience of restrictive interventions...

In an ever-changing environment, the question of the meaning of care within a caring, ethical framework is of paramount importance. The development of a patient-centred approach relies on an understanding of the Other. Caring and empathy are the essential foundations of this approach. An attempt to analyze practices through a few notions of ethics can be proposed.

BACKGROUND: Coercive or restrictive practices such as compulsory admission, involuntary medication, seclusion and restraint impinge on individual autonomy. International consensus mandates reduction or elimination of restrictive practices in mental healthcare. To achieve this requires knowledge of the extent of these practices. AIMS: We determined rates of coercive practices and compared them across countries. METHOD: We identified nine country- or region-wide data-sets of rates and durations of restrictive practices in Australia, England, Germany, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, The Netherlands, the USA and Wales...

The use of seclusion to manage conflict behaviours in psychiatric inpatient settings is increasingly viewed as an intervention of last resort. Many protocols have, thus, been developed to reduce the practice. We conducted a systematic review to determine the effectiveness of protocols to reduce seclusion on process outcomes (e.g., seclusion, restraint), patient outcomes (e.g., injuries, aggressive incidents, satisfaction), and staff outcomes (e.g., injuries, satisfaction). We searched Medline, Embase, the Cochrane Register of Clinical Trials, PsycINFO, CINAHL, cairn...