Wikipedia
In the medical field a Papoose Board is a temporary medical stabilization board used to limit a patient’s freedom of movement to decrease risk of injury while allowing safe completion of treatment. The term "papoose board" refers to a brand name. Papoose is an offensive term and an example of cultural appropriation. The correct term to use is "pediatric immobilization board" or "restraint board".
It is most commonly used during dental work, venipuncture, and other medical procedures. It is also sometimes used during medical emergencies to keep an individual from moving when total sedation is not possible. It is usually used on patients as a means of temporarily and safely limiting movement and is generally more effective than holding the person down. It is mostly used on young patients and patients with special needs.
A papoose board is a cushioned board with fabric Velcro straps that can be used to help limit a patient's movement and hold them steady during the medical procedure. Sometimes oral, IV or gas sedation such as nitrous oxide will be used to calm the patient prior to or during use. Using a papoose board to temporarily and safely limit movement is often preferable to medical sedation, which presents serious potential risks, including death. As a result, restraint is preferred by some parents as an alternative to sedation, behavior management/anxiety reduction techniques, better pain management or a low risk anxyiolytic such as nitrous oxide. Informed consent from a parent or guardian is usually required before a papoose board can be used. If assent from the child is required, then in most cases, the papoose board would be prohibited as it is unlikely that a child would agree to restraint and not struggle. In some countries, the papoose board is banned and considered a serious breach of ethics. (U.K., for example).
Usage examples of "papoose board".
The infant was propped upright on his papoose board so he could watch the marine scene, and Marc lay flat on his back, idly studying the small cumulus clouds overhead and seeing if he could influence their changÂ.
Now, as I strapped the baby down on a papoose board, I saw in his desperate face that of an old man, bald, tormented at being strapped down into a nursing home bed, both faces at once.
Kris started the fad of the papoose board, dredging that up from reading Westerns and historical novels about Indians.
She reached her hand under the blanket they lay on and withdrew the papoose board she'd hidden under it.
Again, Janeway was reminded of a frontier town--or perhaps an early American Indian village, she reflected, as she watched a woman pass by carrying a baby on her back in what could easily have passed for a papoose board.