Physical restraint is a common practice in hospitals, especially in intensive care units. Healthcare professionals agree that physical restraint should be practiced in emergencies, but due to its theoretical ambiguity, physical restraint may be exploited for punitive intent. Therefore, it is important to identify the tendencies toward violence of caregivers to ensure patient safety. This study aims to determine the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of intensive care nurses toward the use of physical restraint and their tendencies toward violence. This study was designed as descriptive and cross‐sectional. The sample of this study consisted of 187 intensive care nurses. A “Personal Information Form,” the “Levels of Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Staff Regarding Physical Restraints Questionnaire,” and the “Violence Tendency Scale” were used in the study. In this study, it was found that the nurses’ information, attitude, and practice mean scores were (7.42 ± 2.50), (33.47 ± 8.43), and (30.67 ± 5.90), respectively. The Violence Tendency Scale mean score was 32.45 ± 7.93, and 84.5% of the nurses showed “less” tendencies toward violence, according to the Violence Tendency Scale. The study revealed a negative, weak, and statistically significant correlation between nurses’ level of knowledge and practices and their tendencies toward violence. A negative, high‐level, and statistically significant correlation was found between nurses’ attitudes and their tendencies toward violence. The results of this study revealed significant associations between intensive care nurses’ knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding physical restraint and their tendencies toward violence. Regression analysis showed that violence tendency was a statistically significant and strong correlate of these outcomes, even after controlling for demographic and occupational factors; however, this association should be interpreted with caution given the cross‐sectional design, which does not permit causal inference. Overall, the findings underscore the importance of recognizing and addressing violent tendencies to enhance professional awareness and patient safety in critical care settings, and may contribute to more consistent, patient‐centered, and safe care practices.
Hülya KOÇYİĞİT KAVAK (Thu,) studied this question.