Social Psychiatry, Vol. 54 No. 2, 2026.
Meeting abstract
https://doi.org/10.24869/spsih.2026.290
Attitudes of Medical and Nonmedical Staff Toward Humane Restraint Measures in the Departments of Pula General Hospital
Branislav Šakić
; General Hospital Pula, Ospedale Generale di Pola, Santorieva 24a, 52100 Pula, Croatia
*
Ivica Šain
; General Hospital Pula, Ospedale Generale di Pola, Santorieva 24a, 52100 Pula, Croatia
Biljana Miščević Dejanović
; General Hospital Pula, Ospedale Generale di Pola, Santorieva 24a, 52100 Pula, Croatia
Luka Sladonja
; General Hospital Pula, Ospedale Generale di Pola, Santorieva 24a, 52100 Pula, Croatia
Tomislav Peharda
; General Hospital Pula, Ospedale Generale di Pola, Santorieva 24a, 52100 Pula, Croatia
* Corresponding author.
Abstract
Throughout history, and continuing to the present
day, humane restraint measures have been a
major ethical, medical, and legal issue. They are
one of the tools used in healthcare institutions to
prevent injury and harm to the patient and their
surroundings. This study aimed to examine attitudes
toward humane restraint measures among
medical staff in a psychiatric ward and other hospital
wards, as well as among family members
of psychiatric patients. The main instrument
was a questionnaire administered to three study
groups. The first group of respondents consists of
medical staff working in a psychiatric ward, the
second group comprises medical staff employed
in other, non-psychiatric wards, and the third
group consists of relatives of patients subjected to humane restraint. The total planned number
of respondents is 75, with 25 participants in
each group. The study is ongoing and has been
designed as a prospective study; the results will
be presented at the congress. We expect that our
findings will be consistent with studies conducted
worldwide under a similar hypothesis, specifically
that there is a divergence of opinion between
medical and non-medical respondents, with
non-medical respondents, that is, patients’ relatives,
holding a more negative view of these measures.
Such results may be explained by a lack of
education regarding the indications for measures
of humane restraint, as well as by stigmatization
and insufficient education about mental illnesses
and conditions and their treatment in general.
Keywords
humane restraint; injuring; stigmatization; attitudes
Hrčak ID:
352989
URI
Publication date:
15.6.2026.
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