Mechanical restraint and characteristics of patient, staff and shifts in a psychiatric ward

Analysis of England's incident and mental health nursing workforce data 2015-2022

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. There have been service-provision changes but the role of mental health nurses has not significantly changed in this period, and we can therefore assume that their current practice is saturated with risk or increased reporting. To help understand the relationship between nurses and incidents, we need to transform how incidents are recorded in England. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: English mental health services report greater levels of patient-related factors such as self-harm or aggression rather than missed or erroneous care. This makes it difficult to understand if a rise in incident frequency is linked to reporting behaviour, patient risk, unsafe/ineffective care or other reasons and therefore planning workforce deployment to improve care quality is problematic.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: There is a paucity of empirical data examining incidents and mental health nurses and the relationship between the two remains uncertain.

AIM

Comparison of English national data for incidents and nursing workforce to examine recent trends.

METHOD

Descriptive analysis of two national datasets of incidents and workforce data for England between 2015 and 2022.

RESULTS

A 46% increase in incidents was found; the leading causes are self-harm and aggressive behaviour. Despite the rise in adverse incident reporting, a 6% increase in mental health nurses was found, with more nurses in community settings than hospitals.

DISCUSSION

Current services are incident reporting at greater concentrations than in previous years. Patient-related behaviour continues to be most prominently reported, rather than possible antecedent health services issues that may contribute to reporting. Whilst staffing has increased, this does not seem to have kept pace with the implied workload evident in the increase in incident reports.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE

Greater emphasis should be placed on health service behaviour in reporting mechanisms. Self-harm and aggression should continue to be considered adverse outcomes, but causal health service factors, such as missed care, should be present in pooled reporting to help reduce the occurrence of adverse outcomes.

Relationship of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics to mechanical restraint used in a psychiatric hospital in Spain

BACKGROUND

Coercive measures have been applied in mental health fields throughout history, denying people with mental illness the ability to decide, even though there is increasing evidence that these measures bring few benefits to these individuals.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this study was to analyse the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics most likely associated with the use of mechanical restraints (MRs) in psychiatric hospital settings.

DESIGN, SETTINGS AND PARTICIPANTS

This was a descriptive, comparative and analytical cross-sectional study in people with mental disorders who were hospitalized in two hospitals in the Autonomous Valencian Community (Spain). We included a total of 91 participants who completed the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD), Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS), Barrat's Impulsiveness Scale and the Hamilton Anxiety Scale.

RESULTS

The results we collected indicated that the patients most likely to be mechanically restrained were younger people with less awareness of their symptoms and disease, previous admissions to a psychiatric hospital and cohabitation with parents and/or family. In addition, having been admitted involuntarily, previously having had MRs applied, presenting more positive psychotic symptoms and habitual caffeine consumption all predicted the use of MRs.

CONCLUSIONS

The variables that were able to predict MR were involuntary admission, previous use of MR, the presence of positive psychotic symptoms and caffeine consumption.

IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE

Evaluation of the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of patients can help health professionals, especially nurses, to recognize patients who are at risk of requiring MR. This allows mental health practitioners to take these factors into account during interventions or when implementing programmes designed to reduce the use of coercive measures in psychiatric hospital settings.

IMPACT

What problem did the study address? Coercive measures have been applied in mental health fields throughout history, with no benefits to these patients. What were the main findings? There are studies that relate some variables to MR in psychiatric settings, but we have been able to find variables capable of predicting MR such as involuntary admission, previous use of MR, the presence of positive psychotic symptoms and caffeine consumption. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? The findings of this study allow for the reduction of MRs in psychiatric units. The sociodemographic and clinical characteristics found to be related to MR will help professionals identify when a patient is admitted in order to use specific interventions aimed at preventing the use of MRs during admission. This is the first study to indicate a relationship between caffeine consumption and the use of MRs. Further studies will be necessary to verify if controlled caffeine supplementation during admission to psychiatric units could become an additional strategy contributing to preventing the application of MR specifically in individuals who habitually consume coffee or caffeine-containing beverages daily.

REPORTING METHOD

We have adhered to relevant EQUATOR guidelines using the STROBE reporting method.

PATIENT CONTRIBUTION

No patient or public contribution.

Variation in opinions on coercion use among mental healthcare professionals: a questionnaire study

INTRODUCTION

Even if coercive measures are widely applied in psychiatry and have numerous well-known drawbacks, there is limited known on the agreement among mental healthcare professionals' opinions on their use. In a questionnaire study using standardized scenarios, we investigated variation in staff opinions on coercion.

METHODS

In a web-based survey distributed to staff at three psychiatry hospitals, respondents were asked to consider if and what coercion to use by introducing two hypothetical scenarios involving involuntary psychiatric admission and in-hospital coercion.

RESULTS

One hundred thirty-two out of 601 invited staff members responded to the survey (Response Rate = 22%). There was large variation in participating staff members' opinions on how to best manage critical situations and what coercive measures were warranted. In the first scenario, 57% of respondents (n = 76) believed that the patient should be involuntarily admitted to hospital while the remaining respondents believed that the situation should be managed otherwise. Regarding the second scenario, 62% of respondents responded that some in-hospital coercion should be used. The majority of respondents believed that colleagues would behave similarly (60%) or with a tendency towards more coercion use (34%). Male gender, being nursing staff and having less coercion experience predicted being less inclined to choose involuntary hospital admission.

CONCLUSION

There is a high degree of variation in coercion use. This study suggests that this variation persists despite staff members being confronted with the same standardized situations. There is a need for evidence-based further guidance to minimize coercion in critical mental healthcare situations.

Income gap between male and female psychiatric nurses in China: A national survey

AIM

To investigate gender differences in the actual and expected income among psychiatric nurses in China.

BACKGROUND

Although studies have shown that male nurses earn more than female nurses in other countries, there are no published data regarding gender income differences among psychiatric nurses in China.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional study involving 41 representative psychiatric hospitals in China. Demographic, income, and job-related data were analyzed using the inverse probability of treatment weighting (IPTW) based on the propensity score.

FINDINGS

The sample included 9256 psychiatric nurses, and nearly four-fifths (79.3%) were female. Males earned slightly higher average monthly incomes than female nurses, while initial analysis showed no significant overall gender income difference (p > 0.05). Notably, most participants (92.5%) desired an income increase of at least 10%, with over half (56.2%) expressing significant dissatisfaction with their current income. After adjustment using propensity score combined with IPTW, females in the junior and mid-level groups had significantly lower income than their male counterparts (all p < 0.01), despite having different night shift patterns. However, there were no significant gender differences in actual or expected income among senior-level psychiatric nurses (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

A majority of psychiatric nurses in China express dissatisfaction with their current incomes and expect higher incomes. Male nurses earned significantly more than female nurses in the junior and mid-level professional groups, potentially due to their differences in night shifts.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY AND HEALTH POLICY

Policymakers and hospital administrators should optimize the income structures of nurses and develop targeted policies to address the gender income gap. Improving nurse income has the potential to enhance motivation and satisfaction within the profession.

Mechanical Restraint in Inpatient Psychiatric Unit: Prevalence and Associated Clinical Variables

Background and Objectives: mechanical restraint (MR) is a controversial issue in emergency psychiatry and should be better studied to implement other alternative therapeutic interventions. The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of MR in an Italian psychiatric unit and identify the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics as well as the pharmacological pattern associated with MR. Materials and Methods: all subjects (N = 799) consecutively admitted to an Italian psychiatric inpatient unit were recruited. Several sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were recorded. Results: The prevalence of MR was 14.1%. Males, a younger age, and a single and migrant status were associated with the MR phenomenon. MR was more prevalent in patients affected by other diagnoses and comorbid illicit substance use, in patients with aggressive behaviors, and those that were involuntary admitted, leading significantly to hospitalization over 21 days. Furthermore, the patients that underwent MR were taking a lower number of psychiatric medications. Conclusions: Unfortunately, MR is still used in emergency psychiatry. Future research should focus on the dynamics of MR development in psychiatry, specifically considering ward- and staff-related factors that could help identify a more precise prevention and alternative intervention strategies.

Developing nurse-sensitive outcomes in acute inpatient mental health settings-A systematic review

BACKGROUND

While nurse-sensitive outcomes (NSOs) are well established in numerous health settings, to date there is no indicator suite of NSOs for inpatient mental health settings.

AIM

To assess the relationship between nursing variables and patient outcomes in acute inpatient mental health settings to determine which outcomes can be used as indicators of the quality of nursing care.

METHODS

Databases accessed were CINAHL, MEDLINE, PsycINFO and EMBASE, last searched in May 2022. The review followed the 2020 PRISMA checklist for systematic reviews. Papers published between 1995 and 2022, conducted in acute mental health care units were included. The quality of the studies was assessed using the Effective Public Health Practice Project Quality Assessment Tool. A meta-analysis was not possible because of the large number of variables and measurement inconsistencies.

RESULTS

A total of 57 studies were reviewed. Studies were categorised according to whether they found a significant or non-significant relationship between nurse variables and patient outcomes. Seven outcomes-aggression, seclusion, restraint, absconding, pro-re-nata medications, special observations and self-harm-were identified. For each outcome, there were significant findings for several nurse variables indicating that all included outcomes could be used as NSOs. However, evidence for aggression, seclusion and restraint use as suitable NSOs was more robust than the evidence for self-harm, absconding, pro-re-nata medications and special observations.

CONCLUSION

All the seven outcomes can all be used to develop an NSO indicator suite in mental health inpatient settings. More work is needed to establish high-quality studies to clearly demonstrate the relationship between these outcome measures and changes in nurse variables such as nurse staffing, skill mix, work environment, nurse education and nurse experience.

PATIENT AND PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Patient or public contribution was not possible because of the type of the variables being explored.

Experience of mental health nurses regarding mechanical restraint in patients with psychomotor agitation: A qualitative study

AIM

To explore mental health nurses' experiences whilst managing a patient with psychomotor agitation, and the factors that influence the decision to use mechanical restraints.

BACKGROUND

Psychomotor agitation is considered a potentially violent psychiatric emergency. The management of disruptive behaviours includes mechanical restraints as the last resort although its use has consequences for patients, professionals and the therapeutic relationship.

DESIGN

A qualitative study design with a hermeneutical approach was developed.

METHODS

A total of 31 nurses were purposively sampled from six short- and medium-stay mental health inpatient units. Data were obtained from semi-structured interviews. A thematic content analysis following the seven steps of Colaizzi's method was performed. Three researchers independently conducted an inductive analysis within a perspective of a hermeneutic paradigm. The COREQ checklist was followed in carrying out this research.

RESULTS

Four themes emerged from the analysis: 1) Nurses' perceptions of restraint methods, 2) Factors influencing decision-making, 3) Consequences for professionals of the use of mechanical restraint and 4) Alternatives to mechanical restraint.

CONCLUSIONS

Aspects such as the importance of teamwork, the issue of cognitive dissonance, ethical conflict and barriers to effecting the withdrawal of these measures affect the mental health nurse's decision-making process. The understanding of these aspects is crucial to further reducing its incidence and negative consequences and achieving the elimination of mechanical restraints.

RELEVANCE FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE

Knowing how nurses feel during the patient's episode of psychomotor agitation and which factors influence the decision on whether to apply coercive methods can guide us on the quality of care offered.

Patient Experience of Physical Restraint in the Acute Setting: A Systematic Review of the Qualitative Research Evidence

The use of physical restraint is a contentious practice in the acute mental health setting. There are a plethora of guidelines surrounding the safe use of restraint. However, there is a scarcity of literature dedicated specifically from the perspective of the patient. The existing literature suggests that there are serious physical and psychological implications associated with the use of physical restraint for both mental health patients and nurses alike. The debate surrounding this practice has been intensified by the compelling evidence suggesting that the application of restraint is not compatible with the values of recovery in mental health care. To influence clinical practice that governs the use of restraint, it is essential to explore patient experiences of its use. Therefore, this review aims to explore patient experiences of physical restraint in the acute setting. PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO were systematically searched using keywords; "physical restraint" and "patient experience" and "acute setting". The search yielded n = 482 papers in total. Following the application of rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria and data extraction, a total of n = 9 papers were considered suitable for the systematic review. Quality was assessed using the MMAT instrument. Following analysis, three themes were identified: 'the bio-psychosocial impact of restraint on patients', 'the impact of restraint on the therapeutic relationship' and 'patient needs concerning the use of restraint'. Future research opportunities have been identified that will add to the body of evidence in developing appropriate health interventions and supports for this population.

Determinants of mechanical restraint in an acute psychiatric care unit

BACKGROUND

Despite numerous attempts to reduce the use of mechanical restraint (MR), this technique continues to be widely applied in many acute psychiatric care settings. In order to reduce MR, a better understanding of the variables associated with its use and duration in different clinical environments is essential.

AIM

To determine the proportion of patients subjected to MR and the duration thereof in two acute care psychiatric units; and to identify the variables associated with the use and duration of MR.

METHODS

Descriptive study of all patients admitted to the acute psychiatric units at the Parc de Salut Mar (Barcelona, Spain) in the year 2018. The number and percentage of patients subjected to MR, as well as the duration of each episode were assessed. The following data were also registered: sociodemographic characteristics, psychiatric diagnosis, and presence of cultural and/or language barriers. Multivariate analyses were performed to assess determinants of MR and its duration.

RESULTS

Of the 464 patients, 119 (25.6%) required MR, with a median of 16.4 h per MR. Two factors - a diagnosis of psychotic disorder [Odds ratios (OR) = 0.22; 95%CI: 0.06-0.62; P = 0.005] and the presence of a language barrier (OR = 2.13; 95%CI: 1.2-3.7; P = 0.007) - were associated with a significantly higher risk of MR. Male sex was associated with a longer duration of MR (B = -19.03; 95%CI: -38.06-0.008; P = 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The presence of a language barrier and a psychotic disorder diagnosis are associated with a significantly higher risk of MR. Furthermore, male sex is associated with a longer duration of MR. Individualized restraint protocols that include the required tools are necessary to ultimately limit the use of mechanical restraint.

A Visual Dashboard to Monitor Restraint Use in Hospitalized Psychiatry Patients

BACKGROUND

Restraint events are tracked using a duration rate as part of a national psychiatry quality reporting program and tracked annually. Visual dashboards can help track metrics in near real time but are not routinely used in psychiatric settings.

METHODS

This observational study sought to characterize restraint events by extracting electronic medical record data on restraint episodes between January 1, 2017, and December 31, 2019, in five inpatient units in one academic medical center. The data were also used to build a visual dashboard and calculate restraint metrics (duration and frequency) across locations and time.

RESULTS

A total of 540 distinct restraint events occurred during the study period. Highest restraint episode counts occurred during evening shift (54.8%), compared to daytime (37.2%) and nighttime (8.0%) shifts. Highest episode duration rates occurred in an adult unit (61.3% of total hours spent in restraints across all units), while highest episode counts occurred in the adolescent unit (48.3% of all restraint episodes). A visual dashboard with two views (summary and detailed) was created. The summary view integrates patient volume data (total patient hours per month) with total duration and number of episodes per month. The detailed view displays event frequency by hour of day, nursing shift, weekday, and patient length of stay at the time of restraint.

CONCLUSIONS

Visual dashboards can provide timely and efficient access to granular data elements and metrics related to restraint events, beyond the reporting requirement of a national quality program. Visual dashboards can reveal variations in restraint use and yield important opportunities for clinical quality improvement.

The Role of Implicit and Explicit Staff Attitudes in the Use of Coercive Measures in Psychiatry

Many determinants leading to the use of different coercive measures in psychiatry have been widely studied and it seems that staff attitudes play a crucial role when it comes to the decision-making process about using coercion. However, research results about staff attitudes and their role in the use of coercive measures are inconsistent. This might be due to a focus on self-report studies asking for explicit answers, which involves the risk of bias. This study aimed to expand research on this topic by examining the impact of explicit and implicit staff attitudes on the use of coercive measures in clinical practice. In addition, the influence of gender, profession (nurses, psychiatrists), and years of professional experience as well as their influence on staff attitudes were examined. An adaption of the implicit association measure, the Go/No-Go Association Task (GNAT), with the target category coercion and distracter stimuli describing work load, as well as the explicit questionnaire Staff Attitudes to Coercion Scale (SACS) was completed by staff (N = 149) on 13 acute psychiatric units in 6 hospitals. Data on coercive measures as well as the total number of treated cases for each unit was collected. Results showed that there was no association between staff's implicit and explicit attitudes toward coercion, and neither measure was correlated with the local frequency of coercive measures. ANOVAs showed a significant difference of the GNAT result for the factor gender (F = 9.32, p = 0.003), demonstrating a higher tendency to justify coercion among female staff members (M = -0.23, SD = ±0.35) compared to their male colleagues (M = -0.41, SD = ±0.31). For the SACS, a significant difference was found for the factor profession (F = 7.58, p = 0.007), with nurses (M = 2.79, SD = ±1.40) showing a more positive attitude to the use of coercion than psychiatrists (M = 2.15, SD = ±1.11). No significant associations were found regarding the extent of professional experience. Results indicate a complex interaction between implicit and explicit decision-making processes dependent on specific contexts. We propose future research to include primers for more context-related outcomes. Furthermore, differences in gender suggest a need to direct attention toward occupational safety and possible feelings of anxiety in the workplace, especially for female staff members.

Overcoming the Use of Mechanical Restraints in Psychiatry: A New Challenge in the Everyday Clinical Practice at the Time of COVID-19

Restraining interventions, which comprise physical (PR) and mechanical restraint (MR), have a long history in mental health services [...].

Patient safety and staff competence in managing challenging behavior based on feedback from former psychiatric patients

PURPOSE

This study aimed to describe the perceptions and lived experiences of former psychiatric patients of their own and/or co-patients' behavior that nursing staff has regarded as challenging and that has resulted in behavior management.

DESIGN AND METHODS

An explorative-descriptive qualitative design with video vignettes, semistructured interviews, and abductive content analysis.

FINDINGS

Many reasons for different kinds of patient behavior that were considered challenging by staff were identified. Delivering care based on patients' needs was identified as core staff competence.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Findings can be utilized when pursuing restraint reduction in psychiatric care by enhancing staff competence.

Influence of nursing staff attitudes and characteristics on the use of coercive measures in acute mental health services-A systematic review

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Aggressive behaviour is a major problem in clinical practice of mental health care and can result in the use of coercive measures. Coercive measures are dangerous for psychiatric patients and international mental healthcare works on the elimination of these interventions. There is no previous review that summarizes the attitude of nursing staff towards coercive measures and the influence of nursing staff characteristics on attitude towards and the use of coercive measures. WHAT THE PAPER ADDS TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: The attitude of nurses shifted from a therapeutic paradigm (coercive measures have positive effects on patients) to a safety paradigm (coercive measures are undesirable, but necessary for the wards' safety). Nurses express the need for less coercive interventions to prevent seclusion and restraint, but their perception of intrusiveness is influenced by how often they use specific coercive measures. The knowledge from scientific literature on the influence of nursing staff on coercive measures is highly inconclusive, although the feeling of safety of nurses might prove to be promising for further research. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: There is need for increased attention specifically for the feeling of safety of nurses, to better equip nurses for their difficult work on acute mental health wards. ABSTRACT: Introduction The use of coercive measures generally has negative effects on patients. To help prevent its use, professionals need insight into what nurses believe about coercion and which staff determinants may influence its application. There is need for an integrated review on both attitude and influence of nurses on the use of coercion. Aim To summarize literature concerning attitude of nurses towards coercive measures and the influence of staff characteristics on the use of coercive measures. Method Systematic review. Results The attitude of nurses changed during the last two decades from a therapeutic to a safety paradigm. Nurses currently view coercive measures as undesirable, but necessary to deal with aggression. Nurses express the need for less intrusive interventions, although familiarity probably influences its perceived intrusiveness. Literature on the relation between staff characteristics and coercive measures is inconclusive. Discussion Nurses perceive coercive measures as unwanted but still necessary to maintain safety on psychiatric wards. Focussing on the determinants of perception of safety might be a promising direction for future research. Implications for practice Mental health care could improve the focus on the constructs of perceived safety and familiarity with alternative interventions to protect patients from unnecessary use of coercive interventions.

The impact of modified mania assessment scale (MAS-M) implementation on the use of mechanical restraint in psychiatric units

BACKGROUND AND AIM

During recent years, there has been an increased focus on reducing use of mechanical restraint in psychiatric care. Studies show that implementing an assessment tool could potentially prevent or decrease the number of episodes of mechanical restraint. This study aims to examine the association between use of the Danish assessment tool for psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with mania (MAS-M) and mechanical restraint to highlight if number, type, and duration of restraint could be prevented or reduced by this procedure.

MATERIALS AND METHOD

This historical cohort study included psychiatric inpatients diagnosed with bipolar disorder and hospitalized with symptoms of mania at the departments of affective disorders during the years 2012-2015. Logistic regression was used in the statistical analyses.

RESULT

A total of 218 patients were included, 74 of whom were scored with MAS-M. Thirty-five episodes of mechanical restraint were recorded. A crude OR of 1.58 (95% CI: 0.75-3.30) of the association was estimated. The study showed a tendency toward patients scored with MAS-M being more frequently restrained with both belt and straps, however, in shorter duration, compared to the control group.

CONCLUSION

This study reported relevant clinical information concerning staff's use of MAS-M, however, did not show a significant association between the use of MAS-M and mechanical restraint. Nevertheless, conflicting results about the impact of MAS-M on preventing and reducing these coercive measures have been highlighted, suggesting that more complex factors influence the use of mechanical restraint. No causal effect was examined thus further studies are needed.