Mapping review of interventions to reduce the use of restrictive practices in children and young people's institutional settings: The CONTRAST study

Abstract

Restrictive practices are often used harmfully with children in institutional settings. Interventions to reduce their use do not appear to have been mapped systematically. Using environmental scanning, we conducted a broad-scope mapping review of English language academic databases, websites and social media, using systematic methods. Included records (N = 121) were mostly from the United States and contained details of 82 different interventions. Children's participation was limited. Reporting quality was inconsistent, which undermined claims of effectiveness. Overall, despite a multitude of interventions, evidence is limited. Leaders should consider the evidence, including children's perspectives, before introducing poorly understood interventions into children's settings.

Nurses should respond to critical quality questions of child/adolescent inpatient treatment

“…Exploring your unit's data on restraint may lend insight into our efforts to understand restraint and PRN use. Indeed, the specialty continues to struggle with isolating the individual and unit factors that contribute to restraint (Nielson et al, 2021) as well as the most effective reduction methods (Baker et al, 2022; Perers et al, 2022). We also need to understand the factors around extended length of stay and restraint use.…”