Finding ways to reduce violence in psychiatric hospitals

Managers at Kino Community Hospital in Tucson, AZ, were growing concerned about patient violence and its effects. This worry resulted from an increasing number of injuries to staff caused by patients in addition to the escalating costs of workers' compensation claims. Managers theorized that staff injuries could be decreased by changing staffing patterns, practicing crisis intervention techniques more frequently, and establishing continuing education classes. The hospital therefore implemented a step-by-step violence prevention program for its inpatient psychiatric department, an action that led to markedly fewer staff injuries by the end of 1996. A detailed account of this program follows.