Staff's experience of and the management of violent incidents in elderly care.
Violence towards staff has become an important issue, since it has been reported to be common in various health care settings. This study aimed to describe emotional reactions among staff being exposed to violence in residential community care for the elderly: to investigate consequences from violent incidents and to describe the management of violent incidents. Data were collected by telephone interviews with nursing staff reporting incidents of violence. During the period of investigation, 97 of 848 staff (11.4%) reported that they had been exposed to violence. More than one-third of them reported subsequent wound and bruises from the incident and two of the exposed staff consulted a doctor because of the violent incident. The most frequently reported reactions among the staff were aggression, astonishment, and antipathy against the perpetrating care recipient, as well as insufficiency, powerlessness, insult and fear. A majority of the incidents were judged as intentionally perpetuating from the care recipient. Most of the violent incidents were managed by informal discussions in the working team. A low number of the reported incidents of violence involved formal discussions with nurse managers.
Aström
Sture
S
Department of Nursing, Umeå University, Umeå, Sweden. sture.astrom@nurs.umu.se
Karlsson
Stig
S
Sandvide
Asa
A
Bucht
Gösta
G
Eisemann
Martin
M
Norberg
Astrid
A
Saveman
Britt-Inger
BI
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006707:Homes for the Aged; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009735:Nursing Homes; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D016273:Occupational Exposure / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012308:Risk Management; D013548:Sweden / Q000453:epidemiology; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology