Quarterly restraint data from the
hospital’s quality improvement department
were examined for July
2000 through December 2002—approximately
one year before and one
year after the program was introduced
in all three units. Restraint
rates were calculated with a formula
that was designed to allow for comparison
with another hospital’s inpatient
psychiatry units for purposes of
quality assurance. The rate was defined
as the total number of patienthours
in restraints that quarter, divided
by the number of patient-days
(the daily patient census summed for
all days of the quarter). This number
was then multiplied by 24 and then
by 1,000.