Interventions for preventing and reducing the use of physical restraints in long‐term geriatric care – a Cochrane review

Aims and objectives. To evaluate the effectiveness of interventions to prevent and reduce the use of physical restraints in older people requiring long‐term nursing care. Background. Physical restraints are commonly used in geriatric long‐term care. However, they are associated with adverse outcomes. Therefore, freedom from physical restraints should be the aim of high‐quality nursing care. Design. Systematic review of randomised controlled trials. Methods. This review followed the methods of the Cochrane Handbook of systematic reviews of interventions. The systematic search (September 2009) covered the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group’s Specialized Register, MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO and LILACS. Results. Six cluster‐randomised controlled trials met the inclusion criteria. All studies investigated educational approaches targeting nursing staff. In addition, two studies offered consultation, two guidance and one support and free access to technical aids. Five studies examined nursing home residents and one study residents in group dwelling units. No studies in community settings were included. Overall, the methodological quality of studies was low. Their results were inconsistent. One study with good methodological quality in the nursing home setting documented an increase in physical restraints use in both groups, while the other four studies with lower quality found reduced use of physical restraints in the intervention group. The single study in group dwelling units found no change in physical restraints use in the intervention group but a significant increase in the control group. Conclusions. There is insufficient evidence supporting the effectiveness of educational interventions targeting nursing staff for preventing or reducing the use of physical restraints in geriatric long‐term care. Relevance to clinical practice. Our findings indicate that educational programmes targeting nursing staff might not be effective in reducing the use of physical restraints in geriatric long‐term care. It remains unclear which components should be included in educational programmes aiming to reduce physical restraints.