Basic Nursing 1st Edition by Judith Wilkinson, Leslie Treas

Exercise 22

Toward evidence-Eased Practice
Capezuti, E.,Wagner, L., Brush, B., et al. (2007). Consequences of an intervention to reduce restrictive siderail use in nursing homes.foumal of the American Geriatrics Society, 55(3), 334-341.
This study of more than 700 nursing home residents at four sites found that routine use of side rails does not reduce the risk of bed-related falls.
I Brush, B. L., Capezuti, E. (2001). Historical analysis of siderail use in American hospitals. journal of Nursing Scholarship, 33(4), 38 I -385.
This study used social historical research methods to examine the pattern of siderail use, the value attached to side rails, and attitudes about raising side rails over time. Initially siderails were used for temporary protection of confused patients. Siderails on adult beds were rare until the 1930s; nurses used continual watchfulness to ensure patient safety. During the 1930s, recurrent nurse shortages, litigation against hospitals and nurses for fall-related injuries, and the move away from ward structure toward semiprivate and private rooms all promoted the use of siderails instead of nursing observation. They now have become a permanent fixture of the hospital bed. However, recent research has demonstrated that side rail-induced injuries may occur. In spite of these recent research-based findings, side rail use remains the norm in promoting patient safety.
What trends and tors currently affecting nursing might influence whether siderail use will change in the near future?