EFFECTIVENESS OF OCCUPATIONAL-THERAPY FOR REDUCING RESTRAINT USE IN APSYCHIATRIC SETTING

Patients who received occupational therapy services (OT Group) and tho se who did not (NOT Group) were compared in a retrospective record rev iew to determine the efficacy of occupational therapy in reducing the need for restraint in a state psychiatric hospital. There were 60 subj ects with an Axis I diagnosis in each group who met the qualifications of a continuous 90-day minimum inpatient status during 1990. The amou nt of time each subject spent in restraint, seclusion, or restraint an d seclusion, and free from confinement served as the dependent variabl es. Results showed no differences between the OT Group and the NOT Gro up for time spent in confinement. A major limitation in this study was the lack of specificity in the documentation of occupational therapy services.