Restraint free care in older adults with dementia
Valerie T. Cotter
During the past two decades, significant research and several government and health care quality groups have advised against the use of physical restraints in hospitals and nursing homes, yet older adults are continuing to die, become injured or experience complications associated with this practice. Physical restraints should be eliminated as an intervention in older adults with dementia because they are also very likely to cause acute functional decline, incontinence, pressure ulcers and regressive behaviors in a short period of time.
For example, evidence exists that when frail older adults with dementia are restrained in the hospital, they experience negative emotional responses such as anger, fear, resistance, humiliation and demoralisation and frequently recall the restraint even once discharged. The purpose of this paper is to disseminate the dangers of this clinical practice and to summarize the latest research in restraint free care and restraint alternatives in the United States.
