Violence prevention and safety training for case management services

Area of Science:

• Mental Health
• Public Health
• Criminal Justice

Background:

• Violence by individuals with mental illness towards healthcare workers garners media attention, contributing to stigma.
• Preventing such violence is a critical challenge for mental health worker training and supervision.
• Project Link, an outpatient program, targets severely mentally ill adults with criminal justice involvement to reduce recidivism.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present an overview of the Safety and Violence Education (SAVE) curriculum.
• To describe the development of the SAVE curriculum.
• To report preliminary findings on trainee satisfaction with the SAVE curriculum.

Main Methods:

• The Safety and Violence Education (SAVE) curriculum trains case managers in identifying violence warning signs.
• The curriculum focuses on safely engaging patients in community settings.
• Project Link has utilized the SAVE curriculum since 1995 for high-risk individuals.

Main Results:

• The SAVE curriculum is a preventative strategy for mental health case managers.
• Project Link has facilitated community transitions for high-risk mentally ill individuals.
• Preliminary evaluation indicates trainee satisfaction with the SAVE curriculum.

Conclusions:

• The SAVE curriculum offers a proactive approach to managing potential violence in mental health care.
• Training case managers with SAVE can enhance patient safety and community integration.
• Further evaluation is needed to assess the long-term impact of the SAVE curriculum.