Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the current state of duration of seclusion/restraint in acute psychiatric settings in Japan and the effect of patient characteristics on duration of seclusion/restraint.
Methods: During an 8-month period starting from November 2008, duration of seclusion/restraint and patient characteristics were investigated in 694 psychiatric inpatients who experienced seclusion/restraint in three emergency and three acute wards at four psychiatric hospitals. Reasons for starting seclusion/restraint were also assessed. Analysis was performed using generalized linear models, with the duration of seclusion/restraint as the dependent variable and patient characteristics and reasons for starting seclusion/restraint as independent variables.
Results: Of the patients secluded/restrained, 58.6% had a primary diagnosis of schizophrenia (F20-F29) and a large proportion (37.9%) were secluded/restrained due to hurting others. Median hours ofseclusion/restraint were 204 and 82 h, respectively. The duration of seclusion was longer for patients with F20-F29 than those with disorders due to psychoactive substance use (F10-F19) or other diagnoses (F40-F99), and when the reason was danger of hurting others. In contrast, the duration of restraint in female patients and in patients with F10-F19 diagnosis was shorter.
Conclusion: The duration of seclusion/restraint at acute psychiatric care wards in Japan are much longer than those reported by previous overseas studies. Although Japanese structure issues such as more patients per ward and a lower ratio of nurses need to be considered, skills for dealing with patients with primary diagnosis of F20-F29 secluded due to danger posed to others should be improved.
Keywords: acute psychiatry; generalized linear models; psychiatric inpatient; restraint; seclusion.
© 2013 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences © 2013 Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.