Impact of the Health Care Financing Administration Regulations on Restraint and Seclusion Usage in the Acute Psychiatric Setting

This quantitative research study hypothesized that the numbers of restraint and seclusion incidents have decreased since the new regulations were imposed by the Health Care Financing Administration. The study sample contained 113 participants who had a documented restraint and/or seclusion episode on the restraint and seclusion logs. The literature shows that a decrease in seclusion and restraint use has been brought about by changes in policies, staff education, and patient education. Data analysis, using a hypothesis test for the difference between two population proportions, revealed that on average there were 2.44% fewer patients restrained or secluded after the new regulations were imposed.