Experiences with Chemical Restraint Application in Intensive Care Units: A Qualitative Study

Objective: In the chemical restraint management process, nurses have some responsibilities, such as applying the requested sedation, keeping the sedation at the targeted level, and monitoring the effects, but there is uncertainty in the management of these patients, which leads to unsafe practices. The aim of this study is to determine the experiences of intensive care nurses with chemical restraint applications.Methods: The study included 20 nurses from the general, anaesthesia, internal medicine, and neurosurgery intensive care units of a training and research hospital in western Türkiye between November 2020 and February 2021. Data were collected using a Socio-Demographic Information Form, a Semi-Structured Interview Form, and a voice recorder.Results: because of the analysis, two main themes were elicited from the data: factors affecting the chemical restraint (CR) decision and difficulties in the CR implementation process.Conclusion: The findings indicate that chemical restraint decisions are influenced by patient characteristics, healthcare professional–related factors, and physicians’ sedation preferences, while the lack of standardised decision-making, organisational limitations, workload, and limited experience pose significant challenges in practice. Although the study was conducted with a small sample of 20 nurses, the results provide valuable insights that may contribute to improving safe chemical restraint practices in intensive care settings.