Selection of employee personal protective equipment based on aggressive behavior in pediatric neuropsychiatry.

Purpose: Hospitalized patients with a developmental or intellectual disability and a psychiatric disorder (dual-diagnosis) often pose a risk to themselves or others leading to high injury rates for their providers. Therefore, evidence-based strategies to reduce employee injuries resulting from interactions are necessary.

Methods: To reduce injuries resulting from interactions with dual-diagnosis patients, the Initial Behavioural Assessment (IBA) and Protective Equipment Decision Key (PEDK) were used in inpatient neuropsychiatry.

Measurable results: Reducing staff injuries on a specialty psychiatric unit for patients with developmental disabilities.

Background: Quality improvement initiative focused on staff injury reduction on a specialized inpatient psychiatric unit which offers acute stabilization for children and adolescents with complex high-risk behaviors.

Objective: To utilize quality improvement principles and interventions to reduce staff injuries on a specialized inpatient child/adolescent psychiatric unit.

Participants: Direct care clinical staff within an inpatient psychiatric unit for patients with co-occurring developmental disabilities and psychiatric illness were the focus of the initiative.