Using Findings From the Human Rights Authority Reports to Inform Psychiatric Nursing Practice

In Illinois, the Human Rights Authority (HRA) exists to conduct investigations of complaints of violations of the rights of persons with disabilities.

The purpose of this study is to describe the findings from the HRA investigations and to determine significant implications for psychiatric nursing practice.

A descriptive cross-sectional design was used, and the sample was composed of reports from the Illinois Guardianship & Advocacy Commission HRA (N = 129) for 2008.

Allegations of restriction/notification of rights were significantly more likely to be substantiated than other allegation types. State hospitals were less likely to have allegations against them, whereas medical hospitals were less likely to have inadequate treatment allegations and more likely to have restriction/notification of rights allegations.

The HRA findings will inform psychiatric nursing practice by expanding the nurses' knowledge of patient rights issues.