Materials and Methods: Structured interviews with the primary carers of 1442 randomly selected patients in Norwegian nursing homes, 1008 (69.9 %) from regular units (RUs) and 434 (30.1%) from specialized care units for patients with dementia (SCUs). The use of five types of constraints during the last seven days was recorded; mechanical restraints, non-mechanical physical restraints, electronic surveillance, use of force or pressure in medical treatment, and use of force or treatment to perform daily care.

Results:

Use of constraints by type of ward

There was no statistical difference between genders in any of the five main outcomes. In Rus, there was a significant higher use of force or pressure in patients aged 80 years and above compared to younger patients (18 % vs 12% p = 0.0034).  In RU wards with higher staff density, patients were less frequently subjected to mechanical restraints (18% vs 25 % p = 0.005) and also to force or pressure in medical treatment (9 % vs 16 % p = 0.001). The proportion subjected to more than one category of constraints was somewhat higher in RUs (40%) than in SCUs (35%).

In SCU wards with 12 or fewer beds, patients were more often subjected to medical treatment against their will, compared to patients in larger wards (22 % vs 13 % p = 0.022). There were statistical differences in use of constraints between patients living in different counties, but no clear pattern was found.

Conclusion. Constraints are widely used in Norwegian institutions for the elderly. A different pattern in use of constraints was found between SCUs and RUs.