Cross-sectional study on nurses’ attitudes regarding coercive measures: the importance of socio-demographic characteristics, job satisfaction, and strategies for coping with stress

Abstract

BackgroundCoercive measures are containment methods used in psychiatry to curb patients’ disruptive and aggressive behaviours towards themselves, others or objects. The prevalence of the practice of coercive measures in psychiatry is directly related to the attitudes of the staff. When discussing these attitudes, nurses are often particularly singled out. The purpose of the study is to research the impact of individual factors on nurses’ attitudes in the decision-making process for the use of coercive measures.MethodsA cross-sectional study among all psychiatric nursing staff in Slovenia (n = 367, 79%) was conducted over the years 2013/2014. Standardized questionnaires were used, including a survey of nurses’ attitudes to the use of seclusion, the Job Descriptive Index, and the Folkman-Lazarus test.ResultsNurses’ attitudes towards special coercive measures are predominantly negative ( = 11.312, SD = 2.641). The factors that explain a positive attitude are as follows: female gender (β = − 0.236, p < 0.001), fewer years of service (β = − 0.149, p = 0.023), emotion-focused strategies of coping with stress (β = 0.139, p = 0.020), and less-threatening patient behaviour (β = 0.157, p = 0.012).ConclusionsThe effects of some known factors did not prove important in the model. Newly recognized factors are “less-threatening patient behaviour” and “emotion-focused strategies of coping with stress”. Therefore, attitudes towards special coercive measures in psychiatry must be regarded as contextualized, interactive, and multidimensional phenomena that cannot be explained merely through a defined set of factors.

Work motivation and job satisfaction of healthcare professionals in the Vojvodina, Serbia

“…Istraživanja u svetu su pokazala da su za osećaj zadovoljstva zdravstvenih radnika poslom značajni mnogobrojni faktori, kao što su: pol, starost, nivo obrazovanja, dužina radnog staža, mesto zaposlenja, novčani iznos mesečne zarade, način organizacije posla, sigurnost zaposlenja, autonomija prilikom obavljanja posla, mogućnost usavršavanja, uslovi rada, podrška od strane nadređenog, radno vreme, kooperativna radna atmosfera, mogućnost napredovanja i slično (8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15).…”

“…Navedeni rezultat studije nije neočekivan ako se u obzir uzme nepovoljna ekonomska situacija u zemlji (24). Rezultati istraživanja Bregara i saradnika (11), sprovedenog u zdravstvenim ustanovama u Sloveniji, ukazuju da su medicinske sestre/ tehničari u radu najzadovoljniji profesionalnim odnosom sa rukovodiocima i saradnicima, samim poslom koji obavljaju i finansijskom nadoknadom za rad, dok su najmanje zadovoljni mogućnošću napredovanja koju im pruža ustanova u kojoj su zaposleni. Druga studija o zadovoljstvu poslom u zdravstvenim ustanovama u Sloveniji, koju su sproveli Prosen i Piskar (25), takođe pokazuje da je naznačajniji faktor nezadovoljstva medicinskih sestara/ tehničara poslom nedovoljna mogućnost za napredovanje.…”

Psychiatric staff attitudes toward coercive measures: An experimental design

“…In psychiatric clinical settings, the use of coercive measures is still common despite the considerable efforts made to reduce its usage . Consequently, most of the clinical practice training programs focus on how to perform coercive measures safely, devoting less effort and time to discussing the impact of nurses’ attitudes toward coercive measures usage and strategies of early prevention of coercive measures usage . However, Eskandari et al stated that inappropriate staff training in adhering to the approved psychiatric policy, such as using the least restrictive measures, might lead to improper use of coercive measures.…”

Correlates of psychiatric staff's attitude toward coercion and their sociodemographic characteristics

“…Since psychiatric nurses’ attitudes are often recognized as a possible influence on the use of coercive measures due to their direct relationship with the expressed behaviors, nurses’ characteristics are often mentioned as important determinants for their attitudes toward coercive measures 19 …”

“…This information could be used to provide more ethical and safer psychiatric environments. However, understanding psychiatric nurses' attitudes toward coercive measures and correlating them to their characteristics is therefore essential for the success of any attempts to reduce their use 19 . Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to identify the difference in psychiatric nurses’ attitudes toward coercive measures in relation to their sociodemographic characteristics.…”