Intervention Reduces Restraint Use among German Nursing Homes

A multicomponent intervention that included training and supportive materials for staff, residents, and relatives reduced the use of physical restraints among German nursing homes by 8%, according to the results of a study published in the May 23/30, 2012, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association(JAMA). Researchers focused on nursing homes with particularly high rates of restraint use; to be eligible, nursing homes in the study were required to have restraint rates of at least 20%—consistent with what the authors say is the rate of restraint use in U.S. nursing homes. All told, 4,449 residents of 36 German nursing homes were observed from February 2009 to April 2010; observed restraints included bilateral bedrails, belts, fixed tables, and other measures limiting free body movement.