Faculty mentor/PI email address
michael.witt@sluhn.org
Keywords
emergency, psychiatry, intoxication, restraints, safety interventions
Date of Presentation
5-6-2026 12:00 AM
Poster Abstract
Introduction: Violence in the emergency department affects approximately 30% of hospital staff every 6 months. Presenting complaints may contribute to violence risk, particularly in those with mental health or substance misuse issue where there are heightened risks of cognitive impairment and involuntary holds.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of literature published between 1957-2025 using multiple databases, identifying studies that observed physical restraint use on adult emergency department patients. All relevant data was recorded and imputed into SPSS for a chi-square test.
Results: Thirteen studies (2019-2025) met inclusion criteria, with sample sizes ranging from 58 to 1,035,522 participants. All studies reported associations between presenting health complaint in patients who received physical restraints, but with some inconsistent terminology. Our analysis shows a statistically higher likelihood of physical restraints with patients with substance misuse when compared to mental health alone.
Conclusion: Few studies have explicitly reported presenting health complaints to evaluate its relationship to physical restraint use. Terminology inconsistencies, dual-diagnosis, and poly-pharmacy are major limitations to our conclusions. Future research should report as many patient characteristics as possible aimed at predicting restraint use.
Disciplines
Emergency Medicine | Medicine and Health Sciences | Psychiatric and Mental Health | Substance Abuse and Addiction
Included in
Emergency Medicine Commons, Psychiatric and Mental Health Commons, Substance Abuse and Addiction Commons
Mental Health vs Substance Misuse: Predicting Restraint Use in the Emergency Department
Introduction: Violence in the emergency department affects approximately 30% of hospital staff every 6 months. Presenting complaints may contribute to violence risk, particularly in those with mental health or substance misuse issue where there are heightened risks of cognitive impairment and involuntary holds.
Methods: We conducted a systematic review of literature published between 1957-2025 using multiple databases, identifying studies that observed physical restraint use on adult emergency department patients. All relevant data was recorded and imputed into SPSS for a chi-square test.
Results: Thirteen studies (2019-2025) met inclusion criteria, with sample sizes ranging from 58 to 1,035,522 participants. All studies reported associations between presenting health complaint in patients who received physical restraints, but with some inconsistent terminology. Our analysis shows a statistically higher likelihood of physical restraints with patients with substance misuse when compared to mental health alone.
Conclusion: Few studies have explicitly reported presenting health complaints to evaluate its relationship to physical restraint use. Terminology inconsistencies, dual-diagnosis, and poly-pharmacy are major limitations to our conclusions. Future research should report as many patient characteristics as possible aimed at predicting restraint use.