What makes hospital patients turn violent?

It’s common for patients to come into a hospital with injuries, but too often they’re the ones inflicting injury on nurses, technicians, and security guards, according to a new study by researchers with Wayne State University School of Medicine in Detroit, published in the Journal of Advanced Nursing.

Researchers analyzed incident reports of patient-to-employee violence during a one-year period in a Midwestern hospital system that includes a pediatric hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, and five specialty hospitals. Nurses, mental health professionals, and security staff are most at risk among hospital workers, and hospitals’ efforts to reduce workplace violence are hampered by a lack of information about the reasons for violence flares, according to the study.

A total of 214 incidents of patient violence were entered during the course of the year, with 90% involving physical violence directed toward employees. Nurses reported about 40% of the incidents. Another 16% were reported by security staff and 14% by nursing assistants called patient care associates. Incidents happened at all seven hospitals, and healthcare workers were often taken by surprise by the patient outbursts.

Source: Reuters