REASONS FOR USES OF PHYSICAL RESTRAINT AND ALTERNATIVES TO THEM IN GERIATRIC NURSING - A QUESTIONNAIRE STUDY AMONG NURSING STAFF

This study is part of a major research project that is concerned with disruptive behaviour among elderly patients and the use of physical re straint in geriatric nursing. The purpose of this study was to describ e the use of physical restraint and alternatives as reported by profes sional nurses. The data were collected by a structured questionnaire. Nursing staff (n=287) from a geriatric unit of a health centre, a nurs ing home, and the medical and psychiatric clinics of a university hosp ital in one city in central Finland, volunteered for the study. The cl ear majority (85%) of the nurses stated that physical restraint had be en used on the ward during the week preceding the questionnaire. Reaso ns cited most often for restraint use were reduced physical and cognit ive capacity of demented patients. The most common alternative was to try to understand the reasons for the elderly patient's disruptive beh aviour. A major challenge for future research and for field experiment s is to provide new alternatives to the use of physical restraint in g eriatric nursing.