Use of physical restraint in hospital patients: A descriptive study in a tertiary hospital in South Africa.

Background: The use of physical restraint in patient management is a common and emotive issue, and has legal and ethical dimensions.

Objective: To document the prevalence of physical restraint use, patient characteristics associated with physical restraint use, and nurses' and doctors' knowledge and perceptions towards the practice.

Methods: A cross-sectional study of 572 patients, of whom 132 were physically restrained, was conducted in acute wards of a tertiary hospital.