Staff use of de-escalation techniques in mental health
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Exploring mental health staff’s use of de-escalation techniques to manage violence and aggression
IRAS ID
142824
Contact name
Owen Price
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Manchester
Research summary
Violence and aggression on acute mental health wards remains a major problem for service users and clinical staff. There are also significant safety concerns with some of the methods used to control violence and aggression, such as physical restraint and seclusion (isolation of a service user in a locked room). A potential means of reducing violence, aggression and staff reliance on interventions such as restraint and seclusion is through the use of de-escalation techniques. These are a range of interpersonal skills that aim to reduce the risk of violence at the escalation phase of aggression, without resorting to physical intervention. Training in de-escalation techniques is part of mandatory NHS training. In spite of this, there is currently no high quality evidence on which to base this training. This study is one part of a PhD project funded by the National Institute of Health Research aiming to develop an evidence based intervention to improve mental health staff’s use of de-escalation techniques. This study will interview service users, carers, clinical and training staff for their perspectives on de-escalation techniques and the factors that may influence their effectiveness. This information will then be used to inform the content for the proposed intervention.
REC name
North West - Greater Manchester East Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/NW/0033
Date of REC Opinion
3 Feb 2014
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion