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Nurses’ perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggression in general ward settings and high dependency areas
Author(s) -
O’Connell Bev,
Young Jeanne,
Brooks Jeff,
Hutchings Joan,
Lofthouse Jacqui
Publication year - 2000
Publication title -
journal of clinical nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.94
H-Index - 102
eISSN - 1365-2702
pISSN - 0962-1067
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2702.2000.00401.x
Subject(s) - aggression , intimidation , verbal abuse , feeling , psychology , occupational safety and health , suicide prevention , injury prevention , poison control , perception , medicine , anger , psychiatry , clinical psychology , medical emergency , social psychology , pathology , neuroscience
• Studies on aggression in healthcare settings have reported increased frequency of this behaviour in both psychiatric and accident and emergency areas; however, to date, very few studies have addressed this issue in general ward settings in Australia. • This descriptive study was conducted to determine nurses’ perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggressive behaviours in general wards and high dependency areas and thereby address the gap in the literature. • Two hundred and nine nurses in one Australian hospital completed a 23‐item questionnaire on aggression in the workplace. • The findings revealed that the majority (89.5%) of nurses defined aggressive behaviour as including verbal aggression, physical aggression and intimidation. • Ninety‐five per cent of respondents had encountered at least several episodes of verbal aggression within the last 12 months. • Patients were found to be the main perpetrators of aggressive acts, followed by relatives. After experiencing either verbal or physical aggression nurses most frequently reported feeling angry or emotionally hurt. • These findings confirm that acts of aggression are experienced frequently in the general medical and surgical ward areas of the study hospital. • Consequently, there is a need to provide staff with education and support in order to deal with this issue and minimize the impact of increasing levels of aggression in the workplace.