Workplace violence prevention training in psychiatric emergency services

Area of Science:

• Healthcare safety
• Emergency medicine
• Psychiatric care

Background:

• Workplace violence is a significant and increasing problem in healthcare, particularly in psychiatric emergency services (PES).
• Existing training programs are not well-established for the unique risks faced in PES settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and implement a specialized training program to address workplace violence in PES.
• To enhance staff self-confidence in managing patients exhibiting aggressive behaviors.

Main Methods:

• A multidisciplinary training program, Situational Awareness for Emergency Responders (SAFER), was developed for PES staff.
• The SAFER program included didactic sessions and interactive role-playing.
• Staff confidence was measured pre- and post-training using the Clinician Confidence in Coping with Patient Aggression Scale.

Main Results:

• Staff confidence in managing physical aggression increased significantly post-training (6.32 to 7.84).
• Confidence in managing psychological aggression also rose significantly (7.07 to 7.85).
• Overall staff confidence in managing aggressive behaviors showed marked improvement across most measures.

Conclusions:

• The SAFER training enhanced staff confidence in managing aggressive patient behaviors within PES.
• A unified training approach for all emergency response disciplines can foster a more coordinated response to workplace aggression.
• Further research is required to determine if SAFER can reduce workplace violence rates and staff injuries.