title: Characteristics of assaultive psychiatric patients: ten year analysis of the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP).
abstract: Nearly thirty years of published research has documented the continuing presence of patient assaults on staff. These studies have included the traditional male patient with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and histories of violence and substance use disorder and the newer female, personality-disordered individual. This study reports on a ten-year longitudinal analysis of assaultive patients in one public-sector mental healthcare system during a period which included the national shift toward managed care initiatives. Data were gathered in the context of the Assaulted Staff Action Program, a crisis intervention program for staff victims. Patient assailants in both inpatient and community settings included both the traditional and newer personality-disordered individuals. The majority of assailants were females. Managed care initiatives appeared to have had little impact on type of assailants. Implications for safety and treatment are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Massachusetts Department of Mental Health, Boston, MA 02114, USA.
authors.forename: Raymond B
authors.initials: RB
authors.lastname: Flannery
authors.forename: Anne P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Schuler
authors.forename: Ellen M
authors.initials: EM
authors.lastname: Farley
authors.forename: Andrew P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Walker
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003155:Community Mental Health Centers / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003419:Crisis Intervention; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008329:Managed Care Programs / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008404:Massachusetts; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000523:psychology*; D010348:Patient Care Team / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012306:Risk; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*