Thursday, 21 August 2003
This presentation is part of : Psychogeriatrics Around the World: Local Research Projects with Global Implications

S080-006 One Week Prevalence of Use of Constraints in Norwegian Nursing Homes

Øyvind Kirkevold, Vestfold Mental Health Care Trust, Norwegian Centre for Dementia Researc, Tønsberg, Norway, Knut Laake, Department of Geriatric Medicine, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway, and Knut Engedal, Department of Psychogeriatrics, Ullevaal University Hospital, Oslo, Norway.

Objective: To describe the prevalence of use of constraints in Norwegian nursing homes.

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

 

RUs n (%)

SCUs n (%)

p-value

Mechanical restraints

224 (22.2)

57 (13.1)

<0.001

Non-mechanical restraints

31 (3.1)

36 (8.3)

<0.001

Electronic surveillance

8 (0.8)

32 (7.4)

<0.001

Force or pressure in medical treatment

135 (13.4)

84 (19.4)

0.004

Force or pressure in ADL

168 (16.7)

89 (20.5)

NS

Any constraints or surveillance

362 (35.9)

195 (44.9)

0.001

 

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.

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