PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

Restraint and confinement still an everyday practice in mental health settings

2015-07-06
(Press-News.org) Providers of mental-health services still rely on intervention techniques such as physical restraint and confinement to control some psychiatric hospital patients, a practice which can cause harm to both patients and care facilities, according to a new study from the University of Waterloo.

The study, which appears in a special mental health issue of Healthcare Management Forum, found that almost one in four psychiatric patients in Ontario hospitals are restrained using control interventions, such as chairs that prevent rising, wrist restraints, seclusion rooms or acute control medications.

"The latest findings show that the use of restraints and medications as control interventions is still an everyday practice in inpatient mental health units," said Professor John Hirdes, of the Faculty of Applied Health Sciences at Waterloo and senior author on the paper. He is also head of interRAI Canada, an international research network that develops mental health assessment tools.

The research reveals that Ontario health-care providers administer acute control medication to almost 20 per cent of psychiatric patients in order to manage dangerous situations.

"Control interventions are not ideal because they counter a patient-centered approach to care and can damage therapeutic relationships while further stigmatizing patients," said Tina Mah, lead author and vice president of planning, performance management and research at Grand River Hospital. "There are also organizational implications of control interventions use including increased costs of care, reputational harm and exposure to potential litigation."

The study suggests that earlier detection of illness or deterioration would help avoid patient crisis and minimize the use of physical restraint, sedation or seclusion. In addition, health-care providers should not use control interventions when a psychiatric emergency is not present.

"Health-care leaders need to pursue more patient-centred approaches to the provision of mental health services. The Mental Health and Addictions Quality Initiative is a positive example of collaboration by hospitals to improve the quality of mental-health services, including in the area of control intervention use" said Mah.

The special issue of Healthcare Management Forum also reports that delays in transferring mental health patients out of hospitals and into other care settings costs the government an average of $7,650 per patient. Francophone Ontarians are one third as likely to have daily contact with psychiatrists compared to English-speaking patients after controlling for a variety of other explanatory factors.

"While reducing expenditures is a priority in the current health-care climate, leaders need to be aware of the importance of making mental-health services equally accessible for all Canadians and protecting our most vulnerable citizens," said Professor Hirdes.

In 2005, the government mandated that all Ontario hospitals complete the interRAI's mental health assessment for all adult patients in psychiatric hospitals or units. The assessment tool helps mental-health professionals obtain a comprehensive overview of factors related to mental health in order to support the development of better care plans to respond to the person's strengths, preferences and needs.

INFORMATION:

The video, Healthcare Management Forum: Improving mental health services with the interRAI Assessment System, is available at this YouTube link. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRlF4mtBbFM&feature=youtu.be



ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Older patients with spinal cord injury: Surgery less likely than for younger patients

2015-07-06
Older patients with traumatic spinal cord injury are less likely than younger patients to receive surgical treatment and experience a significant lag between injury and surgery, according to new research in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal) The number of people with traumatic spinal cord injury over age 70 is increasing, and it is projected that people in this age group will eventually make up the majority of those with new spinal cord injuries. Currently, most spinal cord injuries occur in people aged 16 to 30 years. To determine whether patients over age ...

Mass. General team generates therapeutic nitric oxide from air with an electric spark

Mass. General team generates therapeutic nitric oxide from air with an electric spark
2015-07-06
Treatment with inhaled nitric oxide (NO) has proven to be life saving in newborns, children and adults with several dangerous conditions, but the availability of the treatment has been limited by the size, weight and complexity of equipment needed to administer the gas and the therapy's high price. Now a research team led by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) physician who pioneered the use of inhaled nitric oxide has developed a lightweight, portable system that produces NO from the air by means of an electrical spark. The investigators describe their invention in ...

Uncovering the mechanism of our oldest anesthetic

2015-07-06
CAMBRIDGE, MA -- Nitrous oxide, commonly known as "laughing gas," has been used in anesthesiology practice since the 1800s, but the way it works to create altered states is not well understood. In a study published this week in Clinical Neurophysiology, MIT researchers reveal some key brainwave changes among patients receiving the drug. For a period of about three minutes after the administration of nitrous oxide at anesthetic doses, electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings show large-amplitude slow-delta waves, a powerful pattern of electrical firing that sweeps across ...

How to rule a gene galaxy: A lesson from developing neurons

How to rule a gene galaxy: A lesson from developing neurons
2015-07-06
The human organism contains hundreds of distinct cell types that often differ from their neighbours in shape and function. To acquire and maintain its characteristic features, each cell type must express a unique subset of genes. Neurons, the functional units of our brain, develop through differentiation of neuronal precursors, a process that depends on coordinated activation of hundreds and possibly thousands of neuron-specific genes. A new study published in Nature Communications by researchers from the MRC Centre for Developmental Neurobiology (MRC CDN) at IoPPN, carried ...

New paradigm for treating 'inflammaging' and cancer

2015-07-06
Intermittent dosing with rapamycin selectively breaks the cascade of inflammatory events that follow cellular senescence, a phenomena in which cells cease to divide in response to DNA damaging agents, including many chemotherapies. The finding, published in Nature Cell Biology, shows that once disrupted, it takes time for the inflammatory loop to reestablish, providing proof-of-principal that intermittent dosing could provide a way to reap the benefits of rapamycin, an FDA-approved drug that extends lifespan and healthspan in mice, while lessening safety issues associated ...

Extra DNA acts as a 'spare tire' for our genomes

2015-07-06
Carrying around a spare tire is a good thing -- you never know when you'll get a flat. Turns out we're all carrying around "spare tires" in our genomes, too. Today, in ACS Central Science, researchers report that an extra set of guanines (or "G"s) in our DNA may function just like a "spare" to help prevent many cancers from developing. Various kinds of damage can happen to DNA, making it unstable, which is a hallmark of cancer. One common way that our genetic material can be harmed is from a phenomenon called oxidative stress. When our bodies process certain chemicals ...

Risk of interbreeding due to climate change lower than expected

2015-07-06
One of the questions raised by climate change has been whether it could cause more species of animals to interbreed. Two species of flying squirrel have already produced mixed offspring because of climate change, and there have been reports of a hybrid polar bear and grizzly bear cub (known as a grolar bear, or a pizzly). "Climate change is causing species' ranges to shift, and that could bring a lot of closely related species into contact," said Meade Krosby, a research scientist in the University of Washington's Climate Impacts Group. She is the lead author of a ...

Detecting more small cancers in screening mammography suggests overdiagnosis

2015-07-06
Screening mammography was associated with increased diagnosis of small cancers in a study across U.S. counties but not with significant changes in breast cancer deaths or a decreased incidence of larger breast cancers, which researchers suggest may be the result of overdiagnosis, according to an article published online by JAMA Internal Medicine. The goal of screening mammography is to reduce breast cancer death by detecting and treating cancer early in the course of the disease. If screening detects tumors early, the diagnosis of smaller and more treatable cancers should ...

Survey finds many physicians, clinicians work sick despite risk to patients

2015-07-06
Many physicians and advanced practice clinicians, including registered nurse practitioners, midwives and physician assistants, reported to work while being sick despite recognizing this could put patients at risk, according to the results of a small survey published online by JAMA Pediatrics. Health-care associated infections can lead to substantial illness and death and excess costs. This is especially true for immunocompromised patients and others at high risk, including neonates. However, a gap in knowledge exists about the reasons why attending physicians and advanced ...

Increased risk of complications, death during delivery for women with epilepsy

2015-07-06
A small fraction of pregnancies occur in women with epilepsy but a new study suggests those women may be at higher risk for complications and death during delivery, according to an article published online by JAMA Neurology. Between 0.3 percent and 0.5 percent of all pregnancies occur in women with epilepsy. However, there is inadequate data on obstetrical outcomes so the risk of adverse outcomes and death in this population of women remains largely unquantified. Sarah C. MacDonald, B.Sc., of the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, and coauthors looked ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Toxic metals linked to impaired growth in infants in Guatemala

Being consistently physically active in adulthood linked to 30–40% lower risk of death

Nerve pain drug gabapentin linked to increased dementia, cognitive impairment risks

Children’s social care involvement common to nearly third of UK mums who died during perinatal period

‘Support, not judgement’: Study explores links between children’s social care involvement and maternal deaths

Ethnic minority and poorer children more likely to die in intensive care

Major progress in fertility preservation after treatment for cancer of the lymphatic system

Fewer complications after additional ultrasound in pregnant women who feel less fetal movement

Environmental impact of common pesticides seriously underestimated

The Milky Way could be teeming with more satellite galaxies than previously thought

New study reveals surprising reproductive secrets of a cricket-hunting parasitoid fly

Media Tip Sheet: Symposia at ESA2025

NSF CAREER Award will power UVA engineer’s research to improve drug purification

Tiny parasitoid flies show how early-life competition shapes adult success

New coating for glass promises energy-saving windows

Green spaces boost children’s cognitive skills and strengthen family well-being

Ancient trees dying faster than expected in Eastern Oregon

Study findings help hone precision of proven CVD risk tool

Most patients with advanced melanoma who received pre-surgical immunotherapy remain alive and disease free four years later

Introducing BioEmu: A generative AI Model that enables high-speed and accurate prediction of protein structural ensembles

Replacing mutated microglia with healthy microglia halts progression of genetic neurological disease in mice and humans

New research shows how tropical plants manage rival insect tenants by giving them separate ‘flats’

Condo-style living helps keep the peace inside these ant plants

Climate change action could dramatically limit rising UK heatwave deaths

Annual heat-related deaths projected to increase significantly due to climate and population change

Researchers discover new way cells protect themselves from damage

Rivers choose their path based on erosion — a discovery that could transform flood planning and restoration

New discovery reveals dopamine operates with surgical precision, not as a broad signal

New AI tool gives a helping hand to x ray diagnosis

New Leicester study reveals hidden heart risks in women with Type 2 Diabetes

[Press-News.org] Restraint and confinement still an everyday practice in mental health settings