Adapting Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for a youth inpatient psychiatric unit
What is it about?
Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is a widely used approach in schools that focuses on prevention, teaching and acknowledging appropriate behavior, and using progress monitoring to assess fidelity and impact on outcomes. This study looks at the adaption of PBIS to a child and adolescent psychiatric inpatient unit. The goal of the approach is to create a unit that is positive, preventative, and predictable thereby decreasing the use of restrictive interventions (e.g., seclusion).
Why is it important?
It is critical to create treatment settings that minimize the use of seclusion and restraint given the articulated negative outcomes associated with these methods. The study shows that PBIS is a promising intervention to use in youth psychiatric inpatient units to reduce seclusion and restraint and PRNs.