The predominant type of restraint that has been constantly discussed in the literature is mechanical and physical restraints.
Seclusion is defined as placing a person alone in an area with the doors shut in such a way as to prevent free exit from that area.Įnvironmental restraint is predominantly used to prevent free movement of a person in a building/area. Seclusion is a way of environmental restraint. The most common examples of physical restraint include bedside rails, tucking very tightly in sheets, limb ties, straps, belts.Ĭhemical restraint is the use of medications which are not part of the patient's treatment regimen and are used solely with the purpose of restricting the patient's behavior. Physical restraint can be defined as any device, material, or equipment attached to or placed near a person's body and which cannot be controlled or easily removed by the person and which deliberately prevents or is deliberately intended to prevent a person's free body movement to a position of choice and/or a person's normal access to their body parts. Literature explains different types of restraints, namely physical chemical, seclusion, and environmental. To be free from seclusion/restraint is the right of the patient and these coercive measures are to be used only when there is a threat to the life of the patient or the treating staff. It states that seclusion or restraint be used only after the less restrictive means are not effective.
The Department of Health and Human Services document on restraint in the United States clearly outlines the rights of the patients with respect to the use of restraint. Most studies following that have reported the adverse effects of restraint and have emphasized the need for less restrictive alternatives. Parallelly, he acknowledged that the process of secluding and restraining has adverse physical and psychological effects on both the patients and the nursing staff. Fisher, in his review, concluded that restraint/seclusion is useful in controlling aggression and agitation in persons with severe mental illness and that this is one of the important tools in inpatient psychiatric settings.
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Restraint is defined as any manual method, physical, material, or equipment that immobilizes or reduces the ability of a patient to freely move his or her arms, legs, body or head.