Physical restraints: abusive and harmful.

摘要

Contemporary health care policy around the world promotes the use of evidence-based medicine and, as such, it is reasonable to assume that this would lead to similarities in health care practices in comparable economies. Interestingly, this does not seem to be the case with the use of restraining technologies and restraint policies implemented within hospitals and nursing homes. Definitional ambiguity surrounding what is an abusive act may in part account for these practice variations, given that interpretations of an abusive act are contingent on particular circumstances. For example, if a practitioner restrains a patient who is behaving aggressively, it might be interpreted as a justifiable act, or an act of abuse that may be criminal, depending on the situation.