title: Ward polity and therapeutic outcome. I. Review of patients' records.
abstract: The hypothesis that coercive-restrictive features of the contemporary hospital milieux are necessary to the therapeutic and safety task of the hospital was tested by comparing three ward situations in varying degrees of coercion-restrictiveness. The situations were equivalent in other important respects. Review of patients' records indicated that the therapeutic, satisfaction, and safety outcomes of these three situations were similar. We conclude that a relatively high degree of coercion-restrictiveness may not be justifiable on therapeutic or safety grounds.
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002961:Civil Rights; D005260:Female; D006757:Hospital Units; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008499:Medical Records; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000628:therapy*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013808:Therapeutic Community