Date of Conferral

11-5-2025

Date of Award

November 2025

Degree

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)

School

Nursing

Advisor

Mark Wells

Abstract

The purpose of this Executive Summary is to address a gap in knowledge that I attempted to close regarding restraint utilization. Restraints, both physical and chemical, have been prevalent over the past ten years and with their increased utilization during the pandemic which has continued post-pandemic. Nursing as a culture has become more reliant on restraints as it allows more time for nurses to provide care elsewhere. Both physical and psychological complications have been recognized during the utilization of physical restraints. Their prominence, although helpful with time constraints for nurses, have shown to negatively impact the patients who they are used on. The goal of nursing is to provide quality care to provide patients with the best outcome. This Doctoral Project is based on a knowledge gap that could negatively impact the quality of care provided, along with causing harm, both mentally and physically to patients. To close the gap in knowledge, a pre/post-test assessment with education provided to help close the gap. There were individual education sessions during shift change and lunch breaks, along with an educational poster in the breakroom to catch those nurses that were missed. The pre/post-test questions were the same so a percentage of correct answers were tallied and compared between the pre/post-tests to reflect the effectiveness of the education provided. The data analysis revealed an 82-percentage point increase in knowledge score post education session, with nursing feedback primarily stating less restrictive forms of compliance before applying restraints, both chemical and physical.

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