Reactions of patients and psychiatric hospital staff about physical restraint

ABSTRACT

The use of physical restraint in a variety of health care settings, has received increased attention in recent years. Restraint when used properly, can be a lift saving and an injury sparing measure. However, it has a potential for abuse if used improperly. The responsibility of ordering restraint is that of the physician, and his opinion and experience toward restraint is one of the significant factors affecting the frequency with which this intervention is used. Nurses are often on the front line, interacting with patients who may be violent or who display disruptive behavior, and they may choose to use restraint as an intervention. Front the patients' perspective, restraint can be understood as a form of assault, humiliation and detention. The controversy over how helpful physical restraint is to the patients continues to be an issue in psychiatric settings. This highlights the need and importance of systematic and comprehensive research of patients and staff experience about restraint. The main results yielded by the study proved that, concerning the patients' feelings during restraint, humiliation and worthlessness are the most common feelings experienced by 38.75% of the patients, followed by rage and resentment [25.00%], sadness and despair as well as injustice were experienced equally by the patients [18.75%], feeling guilty was mentioned by 11.25% of the studied subjects; and 3.75% said that they calmed down