Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Pediatric Nurses in Turkey Towards the Use of Physical Restraints

Abstract

BACKGROUND/AIMS: The use of physical restraint in children holds greater importance compared to adults due to the fact that children cannot express themselves. This research, taking into account the important role of pediatric nurses in ensuring patient rights and safety, was conducted as a descriptive and cross-sectional study to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding the use of physical restraint.MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 152 nurses working in the pediatric clinics of a university and a public hospital. The participant data were collected using the "Levels of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Staff Regarding Physical Restraints Questionnaire". The data were analyzed using SPSS, and percentage, Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis analyses were performed.RESULTS: It was observed that all of the pediatric nurses who participated in this study used physical restraints. The most common type of physical restraints were wrist restraints (95.4%) and the reason for physical restraints was to prevent the agitated child from harming themselves and/or others (93.4%). It was observed that the knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding the use of physical restraint were affected by whether the nurses had received any previous education on physical restraints and which unit they worked in (p<0.05).CONCLUSION: The results of this study suggest that pediatric nurses in Turkey need education and specialist counseling regarding physical restraints and relevant protocols must be established by health organizations.