An integrative review on patient inflicted violence among mental health nurses

Abstract

Workplace violence can be in the form of aggression, harassment or simply physical infliction of harm towards nurses. It can arise from many sources but primarily they are patient inflicted violence in different forms. It can be a physical violence, emotional or a combination of both. Incidence of violence towards health care professionals is a recognized global public health issue. Previous studies have already suggested that health care professionals, particularly nurses, have a higher risk of experiencing workplace violence than other professionals. This integrative review looked into the violence where patients are the primary source, as well as the types and impact of violence amongst psychiatric mental health nurses happening worldwide. Further, it looked into the nurses’ road to recovery from the experience of violence and what hospitals and facilities are advocating in stopping these events or at least minimizing the frequency of such acts. Published studies considered in this review found that nurses’ experienced physical pain, fear, anxiety, frustration, distress, resentment, apathy, job dissatisfaction and anger following the violent incident. Nurses after their exposure to a series of violence from their patients’ experience dramatic changes in their well-being.