Nurses' educational needs when dealing with aggression from patients and their families: a mixed-methods study

Area of Science:

• Nursing Education
• Healthcare Professional Development
• Patient Safety

Background:

• Aggression from patients and families presents significant challenges for nurses.
• Effective strategies and education are crucial for managing these challenging interactions.
• A multi-perspective approach is needed to understand and address nursing education requirements.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore the essential educational components for nurses managing patient and family aggression.
• To identify effective strategies for improving nurse-patient/family communication in aggressive situations.
• To assess the perceived effectiveness of developed educational content among nursing professionals and students.

Main Methods:

• A two-phase sequential mixed-methods study conducted in Japan.
• Phase I: Semistructured interviews with 11 neutral observers of aggressive incidents.
• Phase II: Web survey with 102 nursing students and 308 nursing professionals.

Main Results:

• Five key educational components were identified: understanding aggression, self-awareness, observant listening, self-impression management, and disease-specific communication.
• Improved communication through self-awareness was highlighted as a critical factor.
• Participants in Phase II positively perceived the educational content's potential effectiveness.

Conclusions:

• The study clarified essential nursing education for managing aggression, emphasizing self-awareness for improved communication.
• Neutral-party perspectives provided unique insights into the challenges faced by nurses.
• The developed educational content was well-received, indicating its potential utility in nursing practice.