Safewards: a restraint reduction intervention-adapted for dementia care

"The high use of restraint in aged care wards is a pressing human rights concern. Hospital systems often fail to equip staff with appropriate strategies to manage people's changed behaviours. Existing restraint reduction efforts are not resulting in change and there is a need for a new, evidence-informed approach."

— Dr Suzanne Dawson

Mood and behavioural changes are common among people living with dementia. Changed behaviours may include increased restlessness, agitation, and aggression. Non-pharmacological interventions are the prioritised strategies to support people experiencing changed behaviours, however there is a serious overuse of restrictive practices in hospitals. Common restrictive practices include physically holding a person during personal care and using medication to calm a person. Use of restrictive practices is associated with a range of risks to the person and to people caring for them. There is an urgent need for more effective and feasible supports for people experiencing changed behaviours due to dementia in hospital. This project will test a restraint reduction program designed for acute mental health care settings - Safewards – in dementia care.

Goal

To reduce the use of restraints in dementia care wards.

Aims

To co-design adaptations for the implementation of Safewards into dementia care wards.
To assess the impact, feasibility and acceptability of the adapted Safewards program for demntia care wards.