Reducing Use of Restraints and Seclusion to Create a Culture of Safety

The purpose of this article is to describe the structure that empowered staff of a locked community hospital unit to reduce the use of restraints and seclusion to create a culture of safety. Themes garnered from interviews with and observations of key informants fit into the categories of a structural empowerment model, with leadership creating opportunities available for staff to develop new knowledge, information on trauma-informed care, support for feedback, and resources for the unit; thus, relationships with patients flourished. In turn, staff engaged in relationships with patients to provide opportunities to develop new knowledge and offer information, support, and resources.