[Patient assaults of staff; a prospective study of the incidence, circumstances and sequelae]

Patient assaults in psychiatric hospitals result in a considerable number of job-related accidents and personnel absenteeism. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence of assaults, analyze trigger situations, and describe physical and psychological consequences among staff members. Within a study period of 6 months, all apparently aggressive physical contacts between patients and staff in six northwest German psychiatric hospitals were assessed. Patient and staff variables, situational characteristics, and physical as well as psychological consequences were evaluated. During this time, 155 assaults on 170 staff members were reported. Before the assaults, most of the patients showed early signs of aggression as an indication of situational worsening. Work absenteeism following the assaults was observed in 5% of the affected staff. In 14%, symptoms of post-traumatic stress could be diagnosed using the questionnaire version of the PTSD interview. In conclusion, the study results suggest that additional training of younger personnel and implementation of conflict management schemes could help to prevent these assaults.