ABSTRACT
The use of restraints in nursing homes has been curtailed in the United States since the passage of the 1987 federal legislation regulating restraint practices. This study used focus groups with administrators and nursing staff in a skilled nursing facility to examine their views of restraints and perceptions of conditions in the nursing home environment that affect restraint use. Although respondents lacked a shared definition of a "restraint," they did identify contextual factors that in combination with resident characteristics produced situations in which restraint use was justified. Implications of these findings for staff education on restraint reduction are discussed.
Subject(s)
Attitude of Health Personnel , Nursing Homes , Restraint, Physical , Administrative Personnel , Aged , Allied Health Personnel , Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice , Humans , Nursing Staff , PaternalismABSTRACT
The purpose of this study was to identify the effects of recent widowhood on nutritional behaviors. Fifty recently widowed persons over the age of 60 and 50 married subjects of similar age were interviewed on eating behaviors, focusing on changes since widowhood or within 2 years for the married persons. Widowed subjects completed the Grief Resolution Index, and all subjects recorded dietary intake for 3 days. Data were analyzed using nutrient analysis, correlation coefficients, chi square analysis, and t-tests. The results indicate that widowhood changed the social environment of our subjects, altering the social meaning that eating held for them and producing negative effects on eating behaviors and nutrient intakes.
