Aggression management & training on acute psychiatric wards : the nurses' perspective

Abstract

This study has investigated mental health nurses' perceptions of aggression management and the training needs of the nurses' that regularly encounter physical aggression in the acute wards of a psychiatric settings. A purposive sample of nurses (n=45) both males and females who work in the acute psychiatric ward for over one year, and whose ages ranged from 21 to 60 years were invited to participate. A questionnaire formulated by the researcher was the tool used for the collection of data. A response rate of 66% was obtained. Qualitative data collected was analysed through content analysis, while quantitative data was analysed using descriptive statistics. The findings indicated that the nurses' appraise the need for educational programmes and physical intervention training to promote a safe environment. An emphasis was also made on the implementation of control and restraint techniques training especially de escalation techniques that were viewed as essential by the nurses. The findings also reveal that due to physical aggression, the nurses' approach towards potentially aggressive patients is affected. This also affects their attitude towards their job. The results also highlighted the need for an improvement of the service standards and a number of recommendations have been identified. Nursing staff augmentation and time out rooms as well as the creation of a crisis response team were seen as necessary to improve and sustain a proactive service. Moreover the careful creation and application of obligatory aggression management and training sessions were seen as essential to prevent, control and resolve aggressive behaviour.