Psychiatric Inpatients’ Lived Experiences of Physical Restraint: A Qualitative Study in Iran

Background: Physical restraint is an intervention, which sometimes performed in psychiatric wards. Objectives: This study aimed to describe the lived experience of physical inpatients. Methods: In this qualitative study, in-depth unstructured interviews were conducted with 12 female and eight male inpatients restraint. The participants at hospital time interview. transcript was analyzed using a phenomenological-hermeneutic method, based on Van Manen’s approach. Results: four main themes subthemes extracted. included “captivity”, “insult”, “oppression”, “punishment”. Based results, individuals hospitalized for mental disorders considered as suffering. Hermeneutically metaphorically, they felt if “oppressed slaves”, who had been held captive awaited freedom. intervention could traumatize or re-traumatize patients. However, staff’s attitude, empathy, debriefing, giving explanation patients might reduce traumatic effects. Conclusions: Considering significant number negative experiences, alternative methods should be applied hospitals much possible.