Workplace violence (WPV) may be defined as an “act or threat of violence, ranging from verbal abuse to physical assaults directed toward persons at work or on duty” (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 2017, p.1). Pompeii el al. (2015) reported that among the healthcare workers who deliver direct patient care, nurses had the highest prevalence of getting injured in the workplace (Pompeii et al., 2015).
Edward et al. (2014) point out that physical and verbal incidents of violence are the most common forms of violence nurses face in the workplace. Ridenour et al. (2015) define verbal aggression as statements made that aim to inflict psychological harm or threats. Physical aggression is defined as any actions that attempt to inflict pain or harm (Ridenour et al., 2015). A meta-analysis by Edward et al. (2016) reported that psychiatric nurses are more likely to experience forms of physical assault by patients or visitors compared to nurses working in other clinical settings.
Stevenson, Jack, O’Mara, and LeGris (2015) point out that there is limited qualitative literature examining the nurses’ perspectives with workplace violence. Since psychiatric nurses have an increased exposure to physical violence, this pilot study will assess the psychiatric nurses’ lived experience after being victims of physical violence while working in a locked adult inpatient psychiatric setting to bridge the gap found in the nursing literature.
Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenology study was to understand the psychiatric nurses’ lived experiences after being a victim of physical violence while performing their nursing duties.
Methods: Two thirty-minute semi-structured interviews administered by the facilitator. Participants (N=2) were psychiatric nurses currently working in a psychiatric unit who were victims of physical violence.Analysis of transcriptions were performed using Colaizzi’ (1978) qualitative descriptive phenomenological analysis was employed to assess for themes. Transcriptions from the interviews were analyzed using NVIVO© version 12 to identify codes and themes.
Results: Six themes were derived from the analysis. Those themes were: Definitions of Physical Violence, Precipitating Factors to Violence, Experiences of Physical Violence, Vigilance, Prevention Strategies, and Coping Strategies.
Conclusion: Management of physical violence in the psychiatric units is complex. Supportive strategies are needed to minimize the incidence of physical violence. Supportive measures for psychiatric personnel are needed, and they should be implemented by healthcare organizations. Training on management and prevention of WPV is imperative. Major recommendations for healthcare organizations include on-site training for psychiatric nursing staff on techniques to manage and prevent incidents of physical violence. Minimize environmental risk factors such as lack of available personnel, promote safety measures in unit, enhance communication among providers, increase response time from security personnel.