Being in a Seclusion Room: The Forensic Inpatient Perspective

  • Research type

    Research Study

  • Full title

    Being in a Seclusion Room: The Forensic Psychiatric Inpatients’ Perspective

  • IRAS ID

    221653

  • Contact name

    Louise Enderby

  • Contact email

    l.enderby@uea.ac.uk

  • Sponsor organisation

    University of East Anglia

  • Duration of Study in the UK

    0 years, 11 months, 31 days

  • Research summary

    In psychiatric hospitals, seclusion is when a patient is escorted to a room and they have to stay in there on their own, until hospital staff let them out. There is a room in psychiatric hospitals especially designed for this. Seclusion is sometimes used for a short period of time to manage behaviour that might be harmful to others. People are worried about this being very distressing for patients. Researchers have tried to find out what patients like and dislike about seclusion. Some researchers have also tried to find out what the experience feels like for patients. The research that has been done does not give very much detail about the patients’ experience. Professionals have tried to make improvements in the way hospitals use seclusion to make sure it is used properly and safely without truly knowing how patients feel. In order to understand better what the experience is really like for patients, research is needed which focuses on the personal experience in more detail. For this research I will ask inpatients in a forensic hospital about their experience of being in a seclusion room. I will interview patients face-to-face to try to understand what their experience is like. I will record them, listen to what they say and notice what is often said and what is important to people. This will give more detailed information about the real life experience of seclusion for patients. This will help people who work with forensic inpatients to use seclusion in a way that is better for the patients.

  • REC name

    South Central - Berkshire B Research Ethics Committee

  • REC reference

    17/SC/0341

  • Date of REC Opinion

    8 Aug 2017

  • REC opinion

    Further Information Favourable Opinion