Co-creation of the Safewards Model in a Forensic Mental Health Care Facility

Violence and aggression are highly complex problems in mental health care facilities; thus, multi-faceted conflict-reduction strategies are required to mitigate and reduce violence. Safewards is an evidence-informed model aimed at preventing events that have the capacity to trigger aggression and violence. Effectiveness studies of the implementation of Safewards have shown mixed results, including that implementation strategies failed to engage staff and fidelity was low. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of implementing the Safewards model with an approach that embedded co-creation principles in the staff training. Overall, results showed high staff engagement. The average rate of attendance at the classroom-based, staff champion training (n = 108) was 79% (SD = 23). Additionally, online training modules were available to all staff and were completed by 238 of 259 forensic program staff (92%). Overall, staff perceived co-creation to be a positive strategy; staff liked being asked to be involved in the planning, felt that their voices were heard, and believed that it contributed to the success of the Safewards implementation. This study showed that the inclusion of co-creation principles in the implementation strategy enhanced staff adherence to the Safewards model as demonstrated by the high fidelity scores, and effectively led to increased buy-in and engagement of staff.