Relationship of sociodemographic and clinical characteristics to mechanical restraint used in a psychiatric hospital in Spain.

Background: Coercive measures have been applied in mental health fields throughout history, denying people with mental illness the ability to decide, even though there is increasing evidence that these measures bring few benefits to these individuals.

Objective: The objective of this study was to analyse the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics most likely associated with the use of mechanical restraints (MRs) in psychiatric hospital settings.

Design, Settings And Participants: This was a descriptive, comparative and analytical cross-sectional study in people with mental disorders who were hospitalized in two hospitals in the Autonomous Valencian Community (Spain).