title: Resident aggression toward staff at a center for the developmentally disabled.
abstract: Few studies have examined factors contributing to nonfatal assaults to staff working in residential care facilities. The authors evaluated resident assaults toward direct care/nursing staff at an intermediate Care Facility for Individuals with Mental Retardation (ICF/MR), which included observations of work areas, employee interviews, calculation of injury and assault rates for 2004 to 2007 from Occupational Safety and Health Administration Logs, and review of state ICP/MR guidelines. Most staff interviewed reported having been injured during physical restraint of a resident and the average rate of injury from assault at the center evaluated was higher than the average national rates for the health care and social assistance sector for the same time period. The center lacked policies and developing a post-incident response and evaluation program to assist staff in coping with the consequences of assault and/or occupational injury.
authors.forename: Christine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: West
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Galloway
authors.forename: Maureen T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Niemeier
mesh_terms: D000374:Aggression; D002658:Developmental Disabilities / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017751:Safety Management / Q000458:organization & administration*; D014481:United States; D014489:United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D064450:Workplace Violence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*