The aging rate in Japan has increased to 28%, with 73% of hospitalized patients in Japan being above 65 years of age. The ill effects of age and sickness result in a greater likelihood of declining physical and cognitive functions in hospitalized older adults, rendering them unable to comply with the treatment protocol, including prescribed rest. Subsequently, catheter self-extraction and falls are common occurrences, leading to nurses initiating behavioral restraints upon admission to ensure the patient’s safety. Nursing care should ideally involve minimal physical restraints; however, behavioral inhibition has not yet been reduced which may be attributed to the difficult and complex judgments made when dealing with such patients. To date, only a few studies have explored the reasons for initiating behavioral restraint on the day of admission, assuming the decision is related to nurses’ thoughts. This study aimed to elucidate the reasoning and beliefs of nurses initiating behavioral restraints on the day of admission. We used semistructured interviews (prepared using an interview guide) to survey 14 general ward nurses who initiated behavioral restraints on the day of admission. The interview transcripts were produced (verbatim, code, and category) to review the reasons (and thoughts) behind adopting behavioral restraints. The responses given by nurses yielded seven categories of reasons for initiating behavioral restraints, the most prominent being “there is a history of self-extraction and there is a possibility that it will be expunged again” and “cognitive function has deteriorated.” Likewise, eight categories of “thoughts” were identified, including “if there is a record of dangerous behavior, I feel the need to control it” and “if an incident occurs, I have to take responsibility,” leading to initiating behavioral restraints. A patient-centered analysis allowed us to determine the reasons for nurses’ actions, particularly when they did not have sufficient information about a patient’s level of cognition, were unable to predict their actions, or when they did not understand a patient because of a lack of information. Most nurses also rely on the opinions of senior nurses; hence, sympathy and mutual respect among nurses influence their decision to initiate behavioral restraints. When a medical accident occurs, nurses tend to feel responsible for how the patients behave, and creating a culture of safety that is addressed as a ward-wide issue is important to prevent the same incident from recurring. Nevertheless, nurses must strive to protect and respect the dignity of patients in all aspects of nursing, presently and in the future. Nurses feel responsible for upholding the safety of patients; however, administrative efforts are warranted to prevent the recurrence of troublesome incidents and continuously implement safety measures that protect and respect the dignity of patients. This approach may help reduce behavioral inhibition strategies adopted by nurses.
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