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Physical Restraints in Geriatric Care
Author(s) -
Karlsson Stig,
Bucht Gösta,
Sandman P. O.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of caring sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.678
H-Index - 66
eISSN - 1471-6712
pISSN - 0283-9318
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-6712.1998.tb00474.x
Subject(s) - documentation , geriatric care , medicine , test (biology) , nursing , psychology , nursing staff , gerontological nursing , family medicine , paleontology , computer science , biology , programming language
The aim of the present study was to investigate the use of physical restraints in institutional elder care and staff knowledge about and attitudes toward the use of these restraints. Poor knowledge and negative attitudes toward the use of restraints were found among staff. Significant differences between various staff categories were found concerning knowledge about the use of restraints; nurse aids had the lowest and physicians the highest scores on the knowledge test. Nurse aids demonstrated the least negative attitudes (were most prone to use restraints) and physicians the most negative. Furthermore, there was a significant relation between attitudes and knowledge, i.e. staff with poor knowledge also demonstrated the least negative attitudes toward the use of restraints. Despite these negative attitudes among staff, we found a large proportion of restrained patients in the institutions investigated. Twenty‐nine percent of the patients at the investigated clinics were physically restrained. The most common reason given was that restraints were used to prevent falls. No documentation of the observed use of restraints was found in any of the restrained patients' hospital records.