Journal of Multidisciplinary Healthcare (May 2023)
Psychiatric Nurses’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practice Regarding Physical Restraint in China: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
Yue Chong,1,* Can Wang,1,* Tingting Zhi,2 Shihan Fang,3 Haiying Min,1 Lei Zhang,1 Xiaoning Wu,1 Yanbo Wang1 1Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200124, People’s Republic of China; 2Shanghai Psychological Consultation Center, Shanghai Baoshan Mental Health Center, Shanghai, 201900, People’s Republic of China; 3Affiliated Mental Health Center, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou Seventh People’s Hospital, Hangzhou, 310005, People’s Republic of China*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Yanbo Wang, Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders, Shanghai Pudong New Area Mental Health Center, School of Medicine, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200124, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-21-65986226, Email [email protected]: Physical restraint is widely used in mental health services to address safety concerns. However, studies have shown that improper physical restraint can result in adverse effects. Nurses are the main practitioners of physical restraint and play a crucial role in physical restraint decisions and nursing. In China, there is a lack of large-scale investigations into the current status of psychiatric physical restraint use.Aim: This study aims to explore the situation and influencing factors of the psychiatric nurses’ knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding physical restraint in China.Methods: A cross-sectional multicenter descriptive study was conducted from December 2022 to February 2023, consecutively. A convenience sampling method was used to recruit 345 staff from three psychiatric hospitals in Shanghai. A psychiatric nurses’ physical restraint use status questionnaire was administered to examine their knowledge, attitude, and practice regarding physical restraint. The data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test and the Kruskal–Wallis test. Multivariate linear stepwise regression analysis was used for multi-factor analysis.Results: Overall, nurses had a good level of knowledge with positive attitudes and adequate practices. However, they had some misunderstandings and undesirable practices. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that educational background, position and training experience were the main factors influencing physical restraint knowledge, attitudes and practice among psychiatric nurses (p< 0.05).Conclusion: This study highlights some important misconceptions and improper practices of psychiatric nurses about using physical restraint. It is necessary to strengthen education and training on physical restraint for nursing staff to reduce unnecessary physical restraint use.Keywords: knowledge, attitudes, practice, physical restraint, psychiatric nursing
