Physical Restraint Use and Falls in Nursing Homes: A Comparison Between Residents With and Without Dementia

• Published in: American journal of Alzheimer's disease and other dementias Vol. 26; no. 1; pp. 44 - 50
• Main Authors: Huabin Luo, Lin, Michael, Castle, Nicholas
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA SAGE Publications 01-02-2011
• Subjects: Accidental Falls - prevention & control; Accidental Falls - statistics & numerical data; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Alzheimer Disease - complications; Alzheimer Disease - therapy; Dementia - complications; Dementia - therapy; Female; Fractures, Bone - epidemiology; Fractures, Bone - prevention & control; Health Care Surveys; Humans; Length of Stay; Logistic Models; Male; Middle Aged; Nursing Homes - statistics & numerical data; Restraint, Physical - methods; Restraint, Physical - statistics & numerical data; United States - epidemiology; United States; dementia; falls and fractures; nursing homes; physical restraints
• ISSN: 1533-3175; 1938-2731
• DOI: 10.1177/1533317510387585

Aims: To estimate the use of different types of physical restraints and assess their associations to falls and injuries among residents with and without Alzheimer’s disease (AD) or dementia in US nursing homes. Methods: Data were from the 2004 National Nursing Home Survey. AD or dementia was identified using International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes. Analyses were conducted with the Surveyfreq and Surveylogistic procedures in SAS v.9.1. Results: Residents with either AD or dementia were more likely to be physically restrained (9.99% vs 3.91%, P < .001) and less likely to have bed rails (35.06% vs 38.43%, P < .001) than those residents without the disease. The use of trunk restraints was associated with higher risk for falls (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.66, P < .001) and fractures (AOR = 2.77, P < .01) among residents with the disease. The use of full bed rails was associated with lower risk for falls among residents with and without the disease (AOR = 0.67 and AOR = 0.72, Ps < .05, respectively). Conclusions: The use of a trunk restraint is associated with a higher risk for falls and fractures among residents with either AD or dementia.