ABSTRACT
Around the world, service users in health care and disability service settings may be subject to one or more forms of restraint for the purpose of controlling their behaviour. Services users may be subjected to physical or bodily restraint, mechanical restraint using devices such as straps or jackets, and chemical restraint using psychotropic or other sedating medications. The nature and extent of the regulation of restraint use, whether through legislation, common law, policy and guidelines, accreditation, common law, or other means, varies across and within jurisdictions. These practices, and the manner in which they are regulated, have been under increasing attention in recent years due to growing recognition that they raise human rights concerns and have the potential to cause a range of harms. This chapter describes the impetus and options for regulatory reform in Australia, New Zealand, England and parts of Europe. It introduces the chapters in this volume according to three themes – first, the role of regulation and its limits, secondly, issues arising in implementing and monitoring reform, and thirdly, the need for reform to be supported by changes to culture and practice.
