Monitoraggio degli esiti sensibili dell’assistenza: la contenzione fisica della persona adulta nella media intensità di cura ospedaliera

Introduction Physical restraint is an extraordinary nursing act that poses ethical, nursing, deontological and legal issues. Literature shows weak evidence to support it, despite its frequent use in clinical practice. Prevalence monitoring is recommended, even if the evaluations are uneven due to different characteristics of the settings of care and whether bedrails are included among physical restraints or not. The objective of this study is to assess the prevalence of physical restraint in the Italian health system, through its evaluation in the Papa Giovanni XXIII hospital, Bergamo. Methods Observational, prospective study. All in-patients undergoing physical restraint were assessed along an observation period lasting 51 consecutive days and involving 21 continuous-cycle hospital care units. The critical area, the paediatric area and the mental health area were excluded. Daily surveys, direct observations of the patients contained and analysis of the clinical documentation have been carried out. Results The different methods of investigation used indicate a prevalence of containment of 2.13% (daily surveys) and 1.5% (direct observations).