BackgroundWorkplace violence (WPV) against healthcare workers (HCWs) employed in psychiatric inpatient wards is a serious occupational issue that involves both staff and patients; the consequences of WPV may include increased service costs and lower standards of care. The purpose of this review was to evaluate which topics have been focused on in the literature and which are new in approaching the concern of patient violence against HCWs employed in psychiatric inpatient wards, in the past 20 years.MethodsWe searched for publications in PubMed and Web of Science using selected keywords. Each article was reviewed and categorized into one or more of the following four categories based on its subject matter: risk assessment, risk management, occurrence rates, and physical/nonphysical consequences.ResultsOur search resulted in a total of 64 publications that matched our inclusion criteria. The topics discussed, in order of frequency (from highest to lowest), were as follows: “risk assessment,” “risk management,” “occurrence rates,” and “physical/nonphysical consequences.” Schizophrenia, young age, alcohol use, drug misuse, a history of violence, and hostile-dominant interpersonal styles were found to be the predictors of patients’ violence.ConclusionRisk assessment of violence by patients appeared the way to effectively minimize the occurrence of WPV and, consequently, to better protect mental HCWs. We found paucity of data regarding psychologic sequelae of WPV. According to these findings, we suggest the need to better investigate the psychologic consequences of WPV, with the aim of checking the effective interventions to assist HCW victims of violence and to prevent psychologic illness.

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Aims: We evaluated the impact of depressive symptoms on the rate of incident mild cognitive impairment (MCI) after a 3.5-year follow-up, and we assessed the interaction between depressive symptoms and vascular risk factors for incident MCI. Methods: A total of 2,963 individuals from a sample of 5,632 65- to 84-year-old subjects were cognitively and functionally evaluated at the 1st and 2nd surveys of the Italian Longitudinal Study on Aging, a prospective cohort study with a 3.5-year follow-up. MCI and dementia were classified using current clinical criteria. Depressive symptoms were measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale. Results: Among the 2,963 participants, 139 prevalent MCI cases were diagnosed at the 1st survey. During the 3.5-year follow-up, 105 new events of MCI were diagnosed. We did not observe any significant association between depressive symptoms and incident MCI (RR = 1.25, 95% CI = 0.85–1.84, χ² = 1.30, p < 0.25). No sociodemographic variables or vascular risk factors modified the relationship between depressive symptoms and incident MCI. Conclusion: In our population, depressive symptoms were not associated with the rate of incident MCI. Our findings did not support a role of sociodemographic variables or vascular risk factors in the link between depressive symptoms and incident MCI.

Introduction Workplace violence (WPV) towards healthcare workers (HCWs) employed in psychiatric wards (PWs) represeants a concern for healthcare organisations, globally. To date there is a lack of scientific data about the relationship between work-shifts and the occurrence of WPV against PW HCWs. The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationship between work shift schedules and WPV among registered nurses (RNs) working on non-traditional shifts, including nights and 12 hour shifts. Methods The authors conducted a cross-sectional nested casecontrol analysis of data regarding the episodes of WPV perpetrated by patients or their relatives against RNs employed in two PWs, in the period between January-December 2016. Results The one-year incidence of WPV was 31,50 per 100 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions. Cumulative nightshifts were significant for 3 or more nightshifts compared to working less than 3 nightshifts during the 7 days prior to the occurrence of WPV; additionally, RNs working 9 or more night-shifts showed higer risk of experiencing WPV compared to RNs working less than 4 night-shifts in the previous 28 days. Discussion In the present study the occurrence of WPV against PW RNs was significantly correlated with shift-work; as consequence, the findings support the need of organisational interventions aimed at preventing the WPV and targeted on the management of shift-work schedules, with the aim of:. limiting the night shifts up to two per week and up eight per month; . adopting constant forward-rotating shift schedules.

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