Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices of Chinese Critical Care Nurses Regarding Physical Restraint

This multicenter cross-sectional study sought to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the use of physical restraints by Chinese nurses in intensive care units (ICUs) of tertiary hospitals.

A scale technique was used to measure the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of 383 RNs from eight tertiary hospitals in Chongqing, China.

A total of 383 valid questionnaires were returned, for a response rate of 89.49%. Approximately 8.1% of the nurses were male, 67.1% had a bachelor's degree or above, and 55.09% were ICU specialists. The average age was 28.62 years (SD = 4.56). The mean scores were 74.33 of 111 (SD = 9.552), 24.41 of 40 (SD = 4.872), and 65.66 of 130 (SD = 20.880) regarding knowledge, attitudes, and nursing practices, respectively. For the attitude scale, the scores of nurses who were certified ICU specialists and had extensive working experience were higher than those with less experience; the difference was statistically significant (p < .05).

Results indicated that nurses employed in the ICUs of tertiary hospitals in Chongqing, China, have relatively insufficient knowledge, comparatively incorrect attitudes, and unreasonable means of practicing physical restraint. Continuing education should focus strongly on the relationship between physical restraint and unplanned extubation, and guidelines on physical restraint urgently need to be developed. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(3):121-126.].