Forcible restraints are routine events in American hospitals. One study, using 2017 data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, estimated the number of restraints per year in the U.S. at more than 44,000. The rate varied greatly from one country to the next. See: Epidemiology and Psychiatric Services G. Newton Howes. The use of mechanical restraint in Pacific Rim countries: an international epidemiological study. Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 December 2020International rates of mechanical restraint in 2017 varied from 0.03 (New Zealand) to 98.8 (Japan) restraint events per million population per day, a variation greater than 3000-fold. Restraint in Australia (0.17 events per million) and the … Continue reading →