Use of physical restraints and antipsychotic medications in nursing homes: a cross-national study.

Objectives: This study compares inter- and intra-country differences in the prevalence of physical restraints and antipsychotic medications in nursing homes, and examines aggregated resident conditions and organizational characteristics correlated with these treatments.

Methods: Population-based, cross-sectional data were collected using a standardized Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI) from 14,504 long-term care facilities providing nursing home level services in five countries participating in the interRAI consortium, including Canada, Finland, Hong Kong (Special Administrative Region, China), Switzerland, and the United States. Facility-level prevalence rates of physical restraints and antipsychotic use were examined both between and within the study countries.