A descriptive study of seclusion: the unit environment, patient behavior, and nursing interventions.

The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify unit environmental factors at the initiation of seclusion, and patient behavior and nursing interventions throughout seclusion. The convenience sample of 56 seclusion incidents included 43 patients. A peak time for seclusion to be initiated was within 24 hours of admission. Before seclusion most behaviors were disturbed but nonviolent; during seclusion most behaviors were nondisturbed. Variables studied did not indicate that units were more disturbed when seclusions were initiated than at other times. Seclusion was generally used in conjunction with other interventions.