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Published Online: 15 October 2014

Association of Empathy of Nursing Staff With Reduction of Seclusion and Restraint in Psychiatric Inpatient Care

Abstract

Objective

Disruptive behavior leading to seclusion or restraint increases with patients in a high-acuity stage of mental illness who have histories of aggressive behavior. The study examined whether greater nursing staff empathy skills and motivation reduced use of seclusion and restraint and whether empathy training can further this effect.

Methods

In 1,098 nursing shifts in 2 six-month periods one year apart, hierarchical analyses examined the effects of nursing shift and patient characteristics, the effect for each shift of nurses' skill and motivation to use empathy, and whether empathy training reduced use of seclusion and restraint.

Results

With controls for shift, patient, and other staffing variables, analyses showed that the presence of more nursing staff with above-average empathy ratings was strongly associated with reduced use of seclusion and restraint but empathy training showed no further benefit.

Conclusions

Recruiting and retaining empathic nursing staff may be the best way to reduce the use of seclusion and restraint.

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Information & Authors

Information

Published In

Go to Psychiatric Services
Go to Psychiatric Services

Cover: Snowbound, by N. C. Wyeth, 1928. © Copyright 2014 National Museum of American Illustration™, Newport, Rhode Island. Photo courtesy Archives of the American Illustrators Gallery™, New York.

Psychiatric Services
Pages: 251 - 254
PubMed: 24492902

History

Published in print: February 2014
Published online: 15 October 2014

Authors

Details

Chin-Po Paul Yang, M.D., Ph.D.
Dr. Yang and Dr. Hargreaves are with the Department of Psychiatry and Dr. Bostrom is with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco. Send correspondence to Dr. Hargreaves (e-mail: [email protected]).
William A. Hargreaves, Ph.D.
Dr. Yang and Dr. Hargreaves are with the Department of Psychiatry and Dr. Bostrom is with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco. Send correspondence to Dr. Hargreaves (e-mail: [email protected]).
Alan Bostrom, Ph.D.
Dr. Yang and Dr. Hargreaves are with the Department of Psychiatry and Dr. Bostrom is with the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of California, San Francisco. Send correspondence to Dr. Hargreaves (e-mail: [email protected]).

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