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Aggression and violence by patients, family members, and staff toward healthcare providers have escalated. Results from this study suggest the importance of providing education to nurses in non-psychiatric settings to improve confidence and attitudes in managing patient aggression.
Background
Aggressive patient behavior occurs in all healthcare settings. Nurses in non-psychiatric health settings do not receive the same education and training as nurses working in mental health environments receive to care for patients with aggressive behavior. As a result, nurses may experience injury and decreased job satisfaction, and costs may increase. Nurses need knowledge and confidence to be effective in identifying, communicating, and intervening in aggressive behavior.
Aims
Implement an educational program in managing aggressive patients for nurses in non-psychiatric settings.
Method
A non-experimental one group, pretest-posttest design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the educational program. The Incidence of and Attitudes Toward Aggression in the Workplace (Deans, 2004) was used as the pretest-posttest.
Results
Positive changes occurred in confidence and attitudes in managing patient aggression. Two areas with no change were nurses' understanding of their role and of their responsibility to care for patients exhibiting aggressive behavior on the neurological unit.
Limitations
The small sample of nurses may not represent the overall knowledge, attitudes, and confidence in managing aggressive behaviors.
Conclusion
Results demonstrated program effectiveness and validated the importance of providing education to nurses in non-psychiatric settings to improve confidence and attitudes in managing patient aggression. With limited studies on managing patient aggression in non-psychiatric settings, a need exists for ongoing research into interventions that reduce the potential for aggressive situations.
Workplace violence (WPV) toward nurses has increased, with serious consequences to professionals and their healthcare organizations. Between 2002 and 2013, WPV occurred approximately four times more than in the private sector (Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA], 2015). Park, Cho and Hong (2015) found 71% of surveyed nurses had been exposed to some form of violence in the previous 12 months.
WPV can result in nurses experiencing fear, frustration, lack of trust in hospital administrators, and decreased job satisfaction. Furthermore, nurses may become disenchanted with the nursing profession. As a result, healthcare organizations can be affected directly due to lost work days and cost of injuries; these contribute to a shortage of...