Abstract
Rates of restraint and seclusion on a child and adolescent unit were evaluated before and after the implementation of a restrictive state law which was designed to reduce the monthly rates of restraint. Overall, the total number of hours in restraint, corrected for mean daily census, decreased significantly. The average number of patients in chemical restraint stayed about the same. There was a significant increase in number of patients, number of episodes, and hours of mechanical restraint as expected. Rates of seclusion dropped to zero as mandated. A new category of physical restraint was defined by law and was used to limited extent.
Footnotes
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Dr. Swett is chief of ambulatory care development and Dr. Cole is chief of psychopharmacology at McLean Hospital, Belmont, Massachusetts. Ms. Michaels was at McLean Hospital when the work was carried out and is currently in graduate school in clinical psychology at Catholic University in Washington, DC. Address reprint requests to Dr. Swett, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, 115 Mill St., Belmont, MA 02178.
- Copyright © 1989, The American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law
