Nurses' perceptions about the use of physical restraint on the elderly residents in a long term setting

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to gain a deeper understanding of nursing staffs perceptions on restraint use in an elderly long term setting. A qualitative approach was used to explore the nursing staffs perceptions on restraint use. The study was carried out in a governmental elderly residence. The participants were a purposive sample of ten nursing officers from ten different wards. The data, collected by means of interviews, was transcribed and analyzed thematically. Four main themes emerged from the study, " ... restricting freedom ... ", where restraint was seen as restricting the elderly residents from doing what they wanted, and " ... protecting from harm ... ", in which the beneficial aspect of restraint was emphasized by the participants. However even though these restraints were considered as beneficial, the nurses in general were " ... against restraint ... ", which is the third theme that emerged from the study. Restraint use has both physical and psychological consequences, about which the nurses were adequately knowledgeable. This awareness about the harmful consequences of restraint use, made the nurses try to resort to alternatives. However, their knowledge here was rather limited, thus they found themselves in " ... the dilemma ... ", where they could not find another option to protect their residents from harm without using restraint.