Reducing restrictive interventions: literature review and document analysis (2013)

The aim of this literature review and document analysis is to provide an overview of literature in relation to the practice of restrictive interventions in Australian and international healthcare settings. The literature review has been organised into the following sections:

• literature in relation to the reduction or elimination of seclusion and restraint. This section describes recent initiatives within mental health services, emergency departments and specific to special populations
• literature in relation to the aetiology of aggression. This section includes the model of aggression and focuses on mental health, emergency departments and acute (non-psychiatric) settings, as well as aggression in special populations
• literature in relation to preventing and managing aggression, including specific strategies such as deescalation, sensory approaches and recognising and responding to clinical deterioration
• an analysis of Victorian public mental health service guidelines and policies and a comparison with the Chief Psychiatrist’s guideline for mechanical seclusion and restraint (Chief Psychiatrist, 2006, Chief Psychiatrist, 2011).

Reducing restrictive interventions

Chief Psychiatrist