Risk of physical assaults among student nurses

This study was undertaken within two teaching hospitals (one general and one psychiatric) in a large health board. Its purpose was to compare the rates of physical assaults on student nurses with those on other grades of nursing staff, to explore the aetiological factors associated with attack, and to identify what preventive measures were in place and what support systems were available for affected staff. Data were collected from completed incident forms and from a semi-structured questionnaire administered to the student nurses. The rate of reported assault was much higher in the psychiatric hospital than the general hospital, but the severity of the assault was greater in the general hospital. Age and height were not risk factors for assaults. The study showed inadequate training, under-reporting of incidents, poor utilization of occupational health departments and a lack of support for victims of physical assaults.