A crisis management quality improvement initiative in a children's psychiatric hospital: design, implementation, and outcome

Behavioral crisis management, including the use of seclusion and restraint, is the most high risk process in the psychiatric care of children and adolescents. The authors describe hospital-wide programmatic changes implemented at a children's psychiatric hospital that aimed to improve the quality of crisis management services. Pre/post quantitative and qualitative data suggest reduced restraint and seclusion use, reduced patient and staff injury related to crisis management, and increased patient satisfaction during the post-program period. Factors deemed beneficial in program implementation are discussed.