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Essays on physical restraint in mental health settings
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We all know someone who has been placed in a health care setting such as a rest home or hospital because their needed care is out of their families own ability; whether it’s our own grandma or the neighbor’s great aunt. Many people in this day and age are getting care from health care workers on a daily basis and need constant watch and care. Many of those in the older population are put into rest homes where they can spend the rest of their lives in comfort, while others are placed in hospitals to recover from a stroke or a mental illness. At times, many patients become abusive or unresponsive by choice or not. Because of this abuse and also less control over thoughts and feeling restraints are used to keep them safe. Many believe that last statement; that they are completely safe. With my knowledge, the use of physical and chemical restraints in geriatric health care settings, such as rest homes, should be lessened because they cause injury, require patients to need more care and they take away necessary freedoms.
Defining restraints may be the easiest way to understand what is stated later in the essay. A restraint is anything that is used to prevent a patient from hurting themselves, those around them or even the building (Svein 92). The most obvious way to retrain one is with physical restraints. They can be defined as “Any device, material or equipment attached to or 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” (Muhlhauser 983). Examples of physical restraints are belts, to prevent standing and wrist or ankle restrain...
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Svein Friis, et al. "Mechanical And Pharmacological Restraints In Acute Psychiatric Wards—Why And How Are They Used?." Psychiatry Research 209.1 (2013): 91-97. Academic Search Premier. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
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Yet, solitary confinement is still considered necessary in order to maintain control within the prison and among inmates. Solitary confinement is seen as an effective method in protecting specific prisoners and altering violent/aggressive disobedient behaviors, (Maria A. Luise, Solitary Confinement: Legal and Psychological Considerations, 15 New Eng. J. on Crim. & Civ. Confinement 301, 324 (1989) p. 301). There is some discrepancy among researchers as to the varying effects on inmates who have undergone an extensive solitary confinement stay. Most researchers find that inmates who had no previous form of mental illness suffer far less than those who do, yet most if not all of these individuals still experience some difficulties with concentration and memory, agitation, irritability, and will have issues tolerating external stimuli, (Stuart Grassian, Psychiatric Effects of Solitary Confinement, 22 Wash. U. J. L. & Pol’y 325 (2006) p. 332). Although these detrimental psychiatric repercussions of solitary confinement currently appear, several researches have made suggestions as to how these may be avoided. These requirements being that
Physical restraint, according to Health Care Financing Administration, can be defined as any handling, physical and mechanical methods applied to a patient with the aim of denying him or her the freedom of movement or access to his or her own body (Di Lorenzo et al., 2011). It may involve use of belts or ties that restrain movement of an individual such as seclusion. Seclusion refers to isolation from others, often done in a room that’s I avoid of any furniture and has a small observable window as the only connection to the outside world (Chandler, 2012). The use of physical restraint in handling patients has been on debate for several years now. In most countries such Italy, it
Despite these repulsive behaviors, the most common vile behavior seen throughout the documentary is the inmates covering their windows with blood from cutting themselves with razor blades. Convicts execute these self-harming habits for countless reasons. Despite these unsettling, eye opening situations, the most disturbing aspect of the film is hearing prisoners discuss their experiences in isolation and how it has negatively affected them psychologically. This typically results in a prisoner cutting themselves, bleeding all over their cell and covering themselves in their own blood. Inmates propose that being placed in isolation hinders their ability to be re-integrated into society once they finish serving their sentence. However, the detainee’s bad behavior in the isolation unit simply leads to their isolation sentencing time being increased. This results in more detrimental behavior of the inmates and an increasing amount of self-harm conduct. Although the warden of the prison is aware of the effect isolation has on the prisoners, he continues to use segregation as a source of punishment for offenders who misbehave and to ensure correctional officers and other inmates are safe from dangerous
Metzner, J. L., & Fellner, J. (2010). Solitary Confinement and Mental Illness in U.S. Prisons: A Challenge for Medical Ethics. The Journal of the American Academy of Psychiatry and the Law, 38(1), 104-108.
Experiencing committal court for the very first time was very educational. Not only did I get to experience how mental health patients are committed by court, I was able to observe the entire process step by step. Today’s court hearings were held at Desert Vista Behavioral Health Center in a small court setting, which consisted of the Judge, the representing attorney for each patient, the district attorney along with the patient, witnesses and one security guard and behavioral health techs if needed. The district attorney explained how the process goes and explained what criteria each patient needs to fall under in order to be committed. The district attorney stated in order for patients to be committed they need to be deemed PAD which stands
The United States’ justice system is facing a nationwide epidemic with the usage of solitary confinement. The state of New York is beginning to take steps to completely remove the practice from its correctional facilities. Public opinion of the banning is divided. Many see the use of solitary as a necessary evil to aid the rehabilitation of prisoners and to separate violent and nonviolent inmates. These individuals, along with prison guards, fear that the banning of the isolation unit will cause violence amongst the general population to increase. Other states such as Maine and Mississippi have significantly reduced the usage of solitary confinement without an increase in prisoner violence. This has led many people to question the effectiveness
more drastic measures are taken to control the patients. One of these methods even leads to a
Stewart, D., Merwe, M. V., Bower, L., Simpson, A., & Jones, J. (2010). A Review of Interventions to Reduce Mechanical Restraint and Seclusion among Adult Psychiatric Inpatients. Informa healthcare, 31 (6), 413-424. doi:10.3109/01612840903484113
Thousands of people statewide are in prisons, all for different reasons. However, the amount of mental illness within prisons seems to go unaddressed and ignored throughout the country. This is a serious problem, and the therapy/rehabilitation that prison systems have do not always help those who are mentally ill. Prison involvement itself can contribute to increased suicide (Hills, Holly). One ‘therapy’ that has increased throughout the years has been the use of solitary confinement, which has many negative effects on the inmates. When an inmate has a current mental illness, prior to entering into the prison, and it goes undiagnosed and untreated, the illness can just be worsened and aggravated.
Solitary confinement is a penal tactic used on inmates who pose a threat to themselves or other inmates. Solitary confinement is type of segregated prison in which prisoners are held in their cell for 22-24 hours every day. If they are allowed to leave their cell, they will silently walk shackled and in between two guards. They can only leave for showers or exercise. Their exercise and shower are always done alone and inside. They can exercise in fenced in yards surrounded by concrete. Solitary confinement is either used as a punishment for prison behaviors, a protection method for targeted inmates, or a place to keep prisoners who are a threat to the general prison population. Many prisoners are put in Administrative Segregation for their protection. Many prisoners in this type of segregation are teenagers, homosexuals, and mentally ill prisoners. Many mentally ill prisoners are sent to solitary confinement because there are not rehabilitation services available, and prison officials have run out of options (Shalev, 2008, p [1-2]). Solitary confinement is a convenient method for prison systems, but the detrimental effects on inmates make it an unsuitable option for inmate control.
Nursing Home Abuse With over 1.5 million elderly and dependent adults now living in nursing homes throughout the country, abuse and neglect has become a widespread problem. Even though some nursing homes provide good care, many are subjecting helpless residents to needless suffering and death. Most residents in nursing homes are dependent on the staff for most or all their needs such as food, water, medicine, toileting, grooming- almost all their daily care. Unfortunately, many residents in nursing homes today are starved, dehydrated, over-medicated, and suffer painful pressure sores. They are often isolated, ignored, and deprived of social contact and stimulation.
Certainly, some of these causes cannot be eliminated by nurses or even hospital administrators. For instance, one should mention the characteristics of patients who may be profoundly affected by physical pain. Similarly, their relatives inevitably struggle with intense emotional suffering. Nevertheless, in many cases, it is possible to reduce the risk of violence. Much attention should be paid to the efficiency of policies adopted in the hospital. There are several interventions that healthcare organizations should consider. In particular, it is necessary to reduce the waiting time in hospitals. This improvement is critical to alleviating the stress that patients and their relatives may experience. One should concentrate on emergency departments because physical violence is more widespread in these areas. Hospital administrators need to take several steps to achieve this goal. In particular, they should simplify registration procedures. For instance, patients can be registered directly at their bedsides. This step can remove bureaucratic barriers that often make patients very irritable. Furthermore, it is vital to ensure that the hospital is adequately staffed because the shortage of personnel can lead to the conflicts between patients and medical
An estimated 650,000 offenders are released from prisons each year. Most generally leave with only a few dollars, some clothes, and possibly a bus ticket. Release practices like this are common and can be especially disastrous for mentally ill inmates. If immediately released without access to health care, the mentally ill will suffer from interruption of continuity of care. In prison, they may have been receiving medication, therapy, or other forms of treatment. Interruption of care could lead to excelled deterioration in their mental health. This tends to lead to a higher rate of recidivism among mentally-ill former prisoners. (Hummert, 2011.).
As a nurse in a psychiatry emergency room, the staff must collaborate for the safety of patients and staff. There is a triage process that must be followed when a patient comes to the Psych ED, security takes any electronic devices, keys, purses, lighters, knives, wallets, etc. A nurse takes a mini-triage, which determines whether a patient needs to go to the medical ED side, if the patient is cleared to go to the Psych ED, the nurse must then decide whether to place the patient in a locked involuntary area or unlocked voluntary area. Any patient that goes into the involuntary waiting area must be searched, and go into a patient gown. Once there the patient must be seen by a nurse, then by a doctor. If a patient is agitated to the point of
The quantitative design that would best fit my topic regarding restraint use is the descriptive method. “A descriptive design may be used to develop theories, identify problems with current practice, make judgments about practice, or identify trends of illnesses, illness prevention, and health promotion in selected groups” (Grove, Gray, & Burns, 2015). Restraint use should be used as a last resort because it can cause several adverse outcomes for patients. Not only does it hurt patients physically it can also hurt them psychologically. Restraint use should be used when all other options fail. My focus is on preventing restraint use if possible therefore descriptive design is best fit.