The Increased Use of Chemical Restraints in Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals

The Increased Use of Chemical Restraints in Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals
MS in Nursing 
Leadership Competencies-Winter 2023
Dr. 
The Increased Use of Chemical Restraints in Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitals
The purpose of this paper is to explore the challenge of the increased use of chemical restraints in inpatient psychiatric hospitals. Statistics reveal that practitioners provide up to 76% of more than 43,000 emergency department patients with sedation (Smith et al., 2021). From the information from the risk manager in practice, the increased use of pharmacological restraints is evidenced by about a 30% monthly incidence rate, signifying that about one-third of the patients in the facility received chemical restraints as a strategy to manage behaviors. Moreover, in a study involving 12,977 participants, approximately 2,047, or 15.8%, experienced rapid tranquilization, demonstrating the frequency of chemical restraint use (Smith et al., 2021). Thus, the increasing occurrence of chemical restraint demonstrates the value of addressing the problem to improve psychiatric care delivery and patient experiences.
Analysis of Existing Evidence
Researchers have explored chemical restraints as a rising psychiatric care problem with a focus on the safety and effectiveness of the practice. Muir‐Cochrane and Oster (2021) agree that many experts question the effectiveness of the administered antipsychotic medications because their primary use is not for treatment but for sedating the patient. For instance, Muir‐Cochrane (2020) perceives the approach as controversial because, despite its capacity to restrain aggressive persons in psychiatric facilities, it triggers numerous adverse ramifications. Muir‐Cochrane (2020) also flag this practice as a worrying approach that exposes patients to diverse complications, including extrapyramidal effects, seizures, and