The FDA estimates that hundreds of restraint-related deaths occur each year. To respond to this high rate of associated mortality, the FDA provided new recommendations about the appropriate use of restraint devices in 1992. According to statistics by a Harvard research specialist, deaths due to inappropriate restraint use are anywhere from 50 to 150 each year. According to an FDA report, there is no reliable data to prove that patients who are restrained are safer than those who are not. Many nursing homes have found that small environmental changes like safer chairs, putting a mattress on the floor, and safer floor material, can be more effective at saving lives than using restraints.
Restraints are counter intuitive to promoting mental health.
People going into facilities for mental and developmental disabilities need understanding, emotional support, and therapeutic assistance. Restraint and seclusion can ruin any hope for improvement or recovery. No adequate federal response. Need for stronger federal oversight. According to a 1996 GAO report on institutions for the mentally retarded, one of the most common problems of deficient care was excessive or inappropriate use of restraints.