#yonoato: I used to, now I don’t. A movement in favour of rights-based care

Abstract

The #yonoato (“I don’t restrain”) movement arises as a response to the need to reduce and eliminate the use of mechanical restraint in psychiatry and other health specialties. These practices create a hostile environment and hinder the building of a solid therapeutic relationship between patients and healthcare professionals. A good therapeutic relationship and the use of verbal de-escalation techniques are fundamental in the management of the agitated patient and, consequently, in the use of mechanical restraint. Numerous studies have demonstrated the negative effects that these practices have on both patients and healthcare professionals. The #yonoato project seeks the humanization of care and focuses on rights-based care. Through a regularly sent newsletter, it disseminates content of interest that invites reflection, using storytelling as a form of communication. The project’s objectives include raising awareness of good care practices, empowering healthcare professionals as agents of change, and promoting a solid therapeutic alliance with patients. It also seeks to help healthcare institutions eliminate avoidable mechanical restraint. In short, #yonoato seeks a change in workplace culture in the health field, promoting more respectful practices, raising awareness, empowering and providing tools through training that make it possible to eliminate mechanical restraint and improve care, both in mental health and in other health specialties.