Beneficial additions to management of violence training among psychiatric nurses in Hong Kong

4^th International Conference on Nursing & Healthcare

October 05-07, 2015 San Francisco, USA

W C Wong and C W Tam

Open University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong

Posters-Accepted Abstracts: J Nurs Care

Abstract :

The attitude of psychiatric nurse towards the causes of patient violence determines his/her management of aggressive behavior of in-patients. The causes of patient�s aggressive behavior can be divided into internal causes and external causes. The aim of the present study was to assess the attitude towards causes of patient violence of Hong Kong psychiatric nurses. A cross-sectional survey was employed. A self-administrative questionnaire (The Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale, MAVAS) was used to assess the attitudes of causes of patients� violence of nurses in a local psychiatric hospital. Convenience sampling was employed. Ethical approval was obtained from the research hospital and Ethical Committee of a local University. Results were statistically analyzed. Hong Kong psychiatric nurses harbored disagreement on several internal causes of patient violence, encompassing the statements, namely: Patients are aggressive because they are ill; Aggressive patients will calm down automatically if left alone and it is difficult to prevent patients from becoming violent or aggressive. The training of management of violence in Hong Kong is emphasized on practical skills such as de-escalation techniques, positioning, body mechanism in controlling and restraint of aggressive patient. It is rare to explore the nurse attitudes towards the causes of patient violence which influence their decision and action on the management. If the theoretical input of the causes of patient violence should enrich and strengthen the basic nursing curriculum, the psychiatric nurses in Hong Kong would be enlightened. In conclusion, adding the contemporary research findings concerning the causes of patient violence in the training could be beneficial to decision making of nurses on a suitable and reasonable management on aggressive behavior of mentally-ill patients.

Biography :

W C Wong is the Lecturer (Division of Nursing and Health Studies) of The Open University of Hong Kong. She is a Registered Nurse and Registered Psychiatric Nurse. She had worked in many different clinical areas, including acute care unit and psychiatric unit before joining the university. Her research interests include mental health nursing and nursing education.

Email: wcwong@ouhk.edu.hk