title: Registered nurses' and behavior health associates' responses to violent inpatient interactions on behavioral health units.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Violence carried out by patients against nursing staff unsettles and threatens coworkers as they care for individuals admitted to inpatient psychiatric units.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This study explored nursing staff's individual and group responses to violent incidents performed by patients against caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  This qualitative study used focus groups to collect data from professional nurses and behavioral health associations (N = 19) recruited from urban, inpatient psychiatric unit. Data were analyzed thematically.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sharing information about violence, intervening therapeutically, intervening nontherapeutically, recognizing team influences, experiencing emotions following violence, and understanding the work environment comprised the major themes of the experience.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Findings may stimulate discussions and education sessions that address strategies helpful to nursing staff so that incidents are prevented and staff is supported following such disturbing events. Events of workplace violence, including those occurring on behavioral mental health in inpatient units, require accurate individual and aggregate reporting to develop interventions and evaluate effectiveness of violence reduction strategies.
authors.affiliation: Einstein Healthcare Network, Philadelphia, PA, USA. zuzelo@lasalle.edu
authors.forename: Patti Rager
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Zuzelo
authors.forename: Staci Silver
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Curran
authors.forename: Mary Ann
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Zeserman
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000374:Aggression; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D007297:Inpatients / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009741:Nursing Staff, Hospital; D016272:Occupational Health; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D017751:Safety Management / Q000379:methods*; D014505:Urban Population; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology