Prevention of physical restraint use among nursing home residents in Australia: The top three recommendations from experts and stakeholders

Objective To develop and prioritise recommendations to prevent the use of physical restraints among nursing home residents. Methods This study comprised two expert and stakeholder consultation forums using a modified nominal group technique and a follow-up electronic survey to rank the final set of recommendations. Results There were 15 recommendations formulated to prevent the use of physical restraint among nursing home residents. The three recommendations ranked as most important were that: a single definition be mandated for describing "physical restraint"; use of physical restraint acts as a trigger for mandatory referral to a specialist aged care team; and nursing home staff profile and competencies are appropriate to meet the complex needs of residents with dementia and obviate the need to apply physical restraint. Conclusions Future studies should investigate the feasibility of implementing these recommendations and whether the proposed interventions reduce the use of physical restraint.