Effectiveness of a Multimodal Intervention Program for Restraint Prevention in an Acute Spanish Psychiatric Ward

International recommendations have called to implement strategies to reduce the use of coercion in psychiatric settings. However, in Spain there is a lack of research about intervention programs to reduce mechanical restraint in acute psychiatric units.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a multimodal intervention program based on the principles of six core strategies to reduce the frequency of use of mechanical restraint in an acute psychiatric ward.

The design was a retrospective analysis of the frequency and duration of episodes of mechanical restraint prior to the intervention program (2012) and during the intervention program (2013) in one acute psychiatric ward. The intervention was governed by four strategies: (1) leadership and organizational changes, (2) registration and monitoring of risk patients, (3) staff training, and (4) involving patients in the treatment program.

There was a significant difference between the mean number of monthly episodes of mechanical restraint per 1,000 patient days, pre-intervention (18.54 ± 8.78) compared with postintervention (8.53 ± 7.00; p = .005). We found the probability that mechanical restraint would occur in a hospital admission decreased after performing the intervention (odds ratio = .587; confidence interval = 0.411-0.838; p = .003) after adjusting for confounding variables. The total percentage of restrained patients fell from 15.07% to 9.74%.

The main implication of the study is to support the effectiveness of specific intervention programs based on different measures to reduce mechanical restraint and without contemplating all the strategies that are considered effective.