title: Releasing restraints: providing safe care for the elderly.
abstract: To examine the behavioral effects of releasing restraints and the feasibility of caring for patients considered at risk if unrestrained, two patients were continuously videotaped using surveillance cameras for 1 week with and 1 week without restraints. The videotapes were coded and analyzed using nonparametric and parametric statistics. In Patient #1, motor behavioral changes with a decrease of restless behaviors, as well as changes in sleeping position, were observed. There were no changes in verbal behavior. For Patient #2, no changes in motor or verbal behavior were observed. Nursing care showed a non-significant decrease in nursing care time and an increase in the number of nursing contacts. The implications of the findings and the use of videotapes as a method for collecting observational data in the clinical area are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada.
authors.forename: J M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Morse
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: McHutchion
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003221:Confusion / Q000451:nursing / Q000523:psychology*; D005007:Ethnology / Q000379:methods; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D011187:Posture; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D012149:Restraint, Physical / Q000523:psychology*; D012449:Safety; D013997:Time Factors; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014743:Videotape Recording