LONG-TERM CARE Perceptions of nurses in nursing homes on the usage of benzodiazepines Sibyl Anthierens, Mieke Grypdonck, Liesbeth De Pauw and Thierry Christiaens Aim. This paper reports the findings of a qualitative study on how nurses perceive their own role in the use of benzodiazepines in nursing homes and to identify the factors that have an impact on the nurses’ role in the use of benzodiazepines. Background. The use of benzodiazepines in nursing homes is of particular concern, as nursing-home residents receive considerably more benzodiazepines than non-institutionalised older persons. Evidence of their long-term effectiveness is lacking. Nurses are important partners in the decision-making process of starting and discontinuation of benzodiazepines. Design. Qualitative descriptive. Method. Three focus group interviews and 10 additional semi-structured interviews were used with 33 registered nurses. The interviews were thematically analysed. Findings. Nurses’ main concern is to work towards the comfort of the patient. Benzodiazepines are an easy option with not too many side effects and administration of benzodiazepines is experienced as a routine action. When prescribed they will almost automat- ically lead to chronic usage as there is no evaluation of their effect. There are three aspects that have an impact on nurse’s perceptions of their role in benzodiazepine usage: their own individual attitude and perceptions, their knowledge and organisational factors. Conclusion. Nurses do not see benzodiazepines as a problem drug and once a prescription is initiated it will almost automatically lead to chronic usage. Nurses should work towards a pro-active promotion of addressing sleeping problems and they can play a key role in non-pharmacological interventions. Relevance to clinical practice. Nurses can play a key role in suggesting non-pharmacological alternatives. Education to provide more insight into the problems of insomnia and anxiety may positively influence their attitudes and behaviour. All caregivers in nursing homes should be informed about the relevance of this issue. Key words: Belgium, benzodiazepines, nurses, nursing, older people Accepted for publication: 16 October 2008 Introduction Belgium has a well-established network of rest and nursing homes; they have a mix of residents where slightly and highly dependent patients and demented and non-demented patients live together in one home (Vander Stichele et al. 2006). Rest and nursing homes are mainly run by community social services, by religious charities and to a more limited extend by private for-profit organisations (Paquay et al. 2007). The average age of residents is above 80 years (46% is >85) and 75% are women (Meijer et al. 2000). The majority of residents have somatic problems and the average length of stay varies from 3–5 years. Many residents are still supervised by their former general practitioner (Meijer et al. 2000). Nursing-home residents take more prescription medicines than older people living in the community (Furness et al. 1998) and take often more than eight medications concurrently (Vander Stichele et al. 2006, Bergman et al. Authors: Sibyl Anthierens, MA, Sociologist, Researcher, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium; Mieke Grypdonck, MA, PhD, Department of Nursing Science, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium; Liesbeth De Pauw, MA, Department of Nursing Science, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium; Thierry Christiaens, MD, PhD, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care and Heymans Institute for Pharmacology and Pharmacotherapy, Ghent University, Gent, Belgium Correspondence: Sibyl Anthierens, Sociologist, Researcher, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, Ghent University, UZ, 1K3, De Pintelaan 185, 9000 Gent, Belgium. Telephone: 0032 9 332 54 98. E-mail: sibyl.anthierens@ugent.be 3098 Ó 2009 The Authors. Journal compilation Ó 2009 Blackwell Publishing Ltd, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 18, 3098–3106 doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2702.2008.02758.x