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Geropsychiatric restraint use
J DeSantis1, S Engberg, J Rogers
1Benedum Geriatric Center, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, PA 15213, USA.
Objectives:
To investigate predictors and reasons for restraint use with geropsychiatric patients.
Design:
A prospective, correlational study.
Setting:
The geriatric unit of an acute-care psychiatric hospital.
Participants:
Twenty-one staff nurses and 131 patients admitted consecutively over a period of 6 months.
Measurements:
Disruptive behaviors were measured with the Nursing Home Behavior Problem Scale (NHBPS), cognitive function was measured with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), mobility was measured with a Functional Mobility Screen (FMS), and reasons for restraint use were obtained with a questionnaire completed by nurses.
Results:
Patients with a diagnosis of dementia, impaired mobility, or behavioral problems were more likely to be restrained. The most frequent reasons given by staff for restraint use were an unsteady gait and a risk of falling. The incidence of restraint use was 27.1%.
Conclusions:
The use of restraint with geropsychiatric patients may be more common than previously reported and requires further investigation.