Assaults and nonpatient-induced injuries among psychiatric nursing staff in Bahrain

This retrospective study of incident reports at the psychiatric hospital in Bahrain was carried out to describe nursing staff injuries that were reported during 1992-1999. The average assault rate (4.4%) was much lower than that reported in Western countries. Of the 111 injuries, 44.0% occurred in wards assigned for patients with acute conditions, 27.5% in chronic condition wards, 5.5% in outpatients, and 22.9% in the community. Staff assaults by patients constituted 60.4% of all injuries, of which 64.2% occurred in the 1992-1995 period. The assault rate was highest in 1992 (6.8/100) and lowest in 1998 (1.1/100), while the rate for all injuries was highest in 1994 (12.0/100) and lowest in 1998 (3.3/100). Bahraini staff had higher assault (7.0/100) and total injury (14.8/100) rates than the non-Bahraini (5.5, 6.8/100, respectively). Odds ratios for assaults vs. nonpatient-induced injuries indicated that assaults were 2.3 times (95% CI: 1.05-4.95) more likely to occur in males, 5 times more likely (95% CI: 1.99-12.15) in non-Bahraini, 1.79 times more likely (95% CI: 0.81-3.95) in staff nurses, and 2.3 times more likely (95% CI: 1.05-5.01) in the evening. Suggestions for reducing assaults and nonpatient-induced injuries are discussed.