Nursing professionals' attitudes toward use of physical restraints in Styrian nursing homes Austria.

Background: Given that nursing staff play a critical role in the decision regarding use of physical restraints, research has examined nursing professionals' attitudes toward this practice.

Aim: Since nursing professionals' views on physical restraint use have not yet been examined in Austria to date, we aimed to explore nursing professionals' attitudes concerning use of physical restraints in nursing homes of Styria (Austria).

Method: Data were collected from a convenience sample of nursing professionals (N = 355) within 19 Styrian nursing homes, based on a cross-sectional study design. Attitudes toward the practice of restraint use were assessed by means of the Maastricht Attitude Questionnaire in the German version.

Results: The overall results showed rather positive attitudes toward the use of physical restraints, yet the findings regarding the sub-dimensions of the questionnaire were mixed. Although nursing professionals tended to deny "good reasons" for using physical restraints, they evaluated the consequences of physical restraint use rather positive and considered restraint use as an appropriate health care practice. Nursing professionals' views regarding the consequences of using specific physical restraints further showed that belts were considered as the most restricting and discomforting devices.

Conclusions: Overall, Austrian nursing professionals seemed to hold more positive attitudes toward the use of physical restraints than counterparts in other Western European countries. Future nationwide large-scale surveys will be needed to confirm our findings.