The use of physical restraints- knowledge and attitude of nurses of a tertiary care institute, Uttarakhand, India

BACKGROUND: The use of physical restraint in health-care settings is common and complex practice as it has physical, psychological, judicial, ethical, and moral issues. Nurses are the key persons regarding physical restraint use in hospitals as they are managing the whole process beginning with decision-making, application, caring the restrained patients. Lack of understanding and negative attitude of nurses in the use of physical restraints will hamper patient safety. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional survey was carried out among 110 rando mly selected nurses working in various departments at a tertiary care center Uttarakhand, India, in 2019. The data were collected using self-reported questionnaires consisting of three parts: demographic information, knowledge assessment questionnaire, and attitude rating scale regarding the use of restraints. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 23 descriptive (frequency, percentage, mean, mean percentage, and standard deviation) and inferential statistics (Mann–Whitney and independent t-test). RESULTS: The findings indicated that the mean knowledge and attitude of the nurses for physical restraints were 13.9 ± 1.9 (0–20 points), 35.2 ± 4.7 (28–55 points), respectively. The study revealed that there was no relationship found between knowledge and attitude of nurses regarding the use of physical restraints (r = 0.084). CONCLUSION: The knowledge and attitude regarding the use of restraints among nurses were found to be moderate. In-service training is highly recommended for nurses to improve the knowledge and practices related to the use of physical restraint.