Postincident review of aggression and violence in mental health settings

Management of violence and aggression remains a challenge to mental health care practitioners. It has been acknowledged that for a small number of incidents involving aggression, use of restraint will continue to be a method of containing potentially dangerous situations. The impact of being involved in these procedures remains under researched, but there is growing acknowledgment that some form of post incident review should take place after restraint use. As part of a larger study, a survey design was used to evaluate whether staff (n = 30) and inpatients (n = 30) had found post incident review helpful after incidents involving restraint. Ninety-seven percent of staff, and 94% of patient participants agreed this approach was useful. This article presents the findings of this survey and discusses the complex factors that should be considered when reviewing the aftermath of restraint for staff and inpatients in acute mental health settings.