Registered Nurses' attitudes towards, and experiences of, aggression and violence in the acute hospital setting

Registered Nurses experience higher rates of workplace violence than any other healthcare profession, as they are at the forefront of providing care to vulnerable individuals, many of who are experiencing physical, psychological and or spiritual distress. However, there is a paucity of literature investigating aggression and violence within the acute hospital setting. This study aimed to respond to this gap, providing New Zealand based data on Registered Nurses' attitudes towards and experiences of aggression and violence within the acute hospital setting by: determining the incidence of Registered Nurse exposure to aggression and violence; examining the effect of demographic factors on Registered Nurses exposure to aggression and violence; establishing how many Registered Nurses working in acute hospital settings have engaged in aggression management training and exploring the effect that aggression management training has on Registered Nurses attitudes towards aggression and violence. Results from the study show that Registered Nurses working in this area face high levels of aggression and violence, with 27% of respondents having experienced a physical injury in the past year as the result of violent behaviour and 64% during their nursing career. Participation in aggression management training was found to have a negligible effect on exposure to aggression or violence and a limited impact on Registered Nurses attitudes towards aggression and violence. This is potentially due to the content, design and delivery methods of current training, the efficacy of which has been questioned by researchers. Registered Nurses reported concerns about the increasing level of aggression and violence seen with the healthcare setting, inadequate managerial support both during and after incidents of aggression and violence and poor implementation of the policies and procedures relating to workplace violence. Major recommendations for practice include the development of high quality, relevant and service specific AMT programmes, participation in which should be made a mandatory requirement of employment for all Registered Nurses and managers. It is also advocated that training be provided to those assigned to investigate incidents, to ensure that the analysis is robust, systematic and of high quality and that the policies and procedures relating to workplace violence are reviewed, to ensure that they are supportive of the professional, ethical and legal environment in which Registered Nurses work.

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Nursing

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Grantor

Eastern Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2016

Author dc:creator

• Craig, Andrea

• New Zealand
• registered nurses
• acute care
• workplace violence
• attitudes
• experience
• aggression management training (AMT)
• questionnaires

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved

Language dc:language.iso

en

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10652/6350

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10652/6350