TY - JOUR
T1 - Seclusion in an enriched environment versus seclusion as usual
T2 - A quasi-experimental study using mixed methods
AU - van der Venne, Cornelia G. J. M.
AU - van Meijel, Berno
AU - Deen, Mathijs
AU - Olff, Miranda
AU - Mulder, Cornelis L.
N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by Parnassia Psychiatric Institute, The Hague. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. We are grateful to the property management Ltd of Parnassia Group for their cooperation and for the opportunity to conduct this research. We also thank the staff of the FPA, CDP and DVV departments at Parnassia Group for their data-collection activities. We would also like to thank David Alexander for his professional linguistic advice. Publisher Copyright: © 2021 van der Venne et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
PY - 2021/11/1
Y1 - 2021/11/1
N2 - Background For patients, seclusion during psychiatric treatment is often a traumatic experience. To prevent such experiences, adjustments in the design of seclusion rooms have been recommended. Methods As there have been no empirical studies on the matter, we used a quasi-experimental design to compare the experiences in seclusion of two groups of patients: 26 who had been secluded in a room designed according to the principles of healing environment, a so called 'Enriched Environment Seclusion room' (EES), and 27 who had been secluded in a regular seclusion (RS) room. The enrichment included audio-visual facilities, a fixed toilet, a couch and a self-service system to adjust light, colour, blinds and temperature according to the patient's preferences. Insight into their experiences was obtained using the Patient View-of-Seclusion Questionnaire, which comprises nine statements on seclusion, supplemented with open-ended questions. Results The responses regarding seclusion experiences between the two groups did not differ significantly (U = 280.00, p =.21, r = -.17). Although those who had been secluded in the specially designed room had greatly appreciated the opportunities for distraction, and those who had been secluded in a regular seclusion room expressed the need for more distracting activities during seclusion, both groups described seclusion as a dreadful experience. If seclusion cannot be avoided, patients recommend facilities for distraction (such as those provided in an enriched environment seclusion room) to be available. Conclusion Whatever the physical environment and facilities of a seclusion room, we may thus conclude that seclusion is a burdensome experience.
AB - Background For patients, seclusion during psychiatric treatment is often a traumatic experience. To prevent such experiences, adjustments in the design of seclusion rooms have been recommended. Methods As there have been no empirical studies on the matter, we used a quasi-experimental design to compare the experiences in seclusion of two groups of patients: 26 who had been secluded in a room designed according to the principles of healing environment, a so called 'Enriched Environment Seclusion room' (EES), and 27 who had been secluded in a regular seclusion (RS) room. The enrichment included audio-visual facilities, a fixed toilet, a couch and a self-service system to adjust light, colour, blinds and temperature according to the patient's preferences. Insight into their experiences was obtained using the Patient View-of-Seclusion Questionnaire, which comprises nine statements on seclusion, supplemented with open-ended questions. Results The responses regarding seclusion experiences between the two groups did not differ significantly (U = 280.00, p =.21, r = -.17). Although those who had been secluded in the specially designed room had greatly appreciated the opportunities for distraction, and those who had been secluded in a regular seclusion room expressed the need for more distracting activities during seclusion, both groups described seclusion as a dreadful experience. If seclusion cannot be avoided, patients recommend facilities for distraction (such as those provided in an enriched environment seclusion room) to be available. Conclusion Whatever the physical environment and facilities of a seclusion room, we may thus conclude that seclusion is a burdensome experience.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85118981561&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259620
DO - https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0259620
M3 - Article
C2 - 34762714
SN - 1932-6203
VL - 16
JO - PLOS ONE
JF - PLOS ONE
IS - November
M1 - e0259620
ER -