Crisis Prevention Management: A Program to Reduce the Use of Seclusion and Restraint in an Inpatient Mental Health Setting

The use of seclusion and restraint in the treatment of mentally ill patients is a highly controversial and potentially dangerous practice. A group of direct care psychiatric nurses in a large urban teaching hospital created an evidenced-based performance improvement program that resulted in a decrease in the use of seclusion and restraint. No additional funds were required to develop this program. The public health prevention model was the framework utilized. Early results show a 75% reduction in the use of seclusion and restraint with no increase in patient or staff injuries since its implementation.