Page 24 - Reduction of coercive measures

Chapter 2
Abstract
Background
Policies limit the use of coercive measures as a measure of last resort to protect people from danger. Whether this is successful can only be determined with registration of the use of coercive measures.
Specific aims
The reliability of 57 standardized coercive measures was tested. In addition, implementation was investigated of improved registration in a residential care setting.
Method
This mixed method study within a residential care organization for people with intellectual disabilities in The Netherlands included 55 living units and 269 residents. Reliability of 57 standardized coercive measures was tested against other informants (a colleague and trained outside observer) and results were validated by a panel of stakeholders. Second, the implementation of a mandatory routine registration system was investigated by comparing registration of coercive measures to personal files of 30 residents.
Findings
Registration of coercive measures yielded reliable data for at least 25 out of 57 types of coercive measures. The second part of the study showed widely varying explanations of unreliable data by stakeholders, including knowledge and awareness of coercive measures of support staff and the influence of contextual factors on the encoding of coercive measures. After implementation, 46% of the coercive measures were registered in the registration system.
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