Nurses' attitudes towards professional containment methods used in psychiatric wards and perceptions of aggression in Turkey

Abstract

Aims and objective. The aim of this study was to determine nurses' attitudes towards professional containment methods and to explore the relationship between those attitudes and nurses' perception of aggression. Background. Different containment methods are used in psychiatric wards when patients behave aggressively towards others or exhibit self-harm. It is known that in addition to patient-specific and environmental influences, many factors related to the staff influence the choice of containment method. One of these factors is the perception of aggression. Design. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used and the sample consisted of 144 nurses who are employed in a psychiatric hospital in Istanbul and who volunteered to participate in the study. Method. Data were collected using a questionnaire addressing the socio-demographic and professional features of nurses and using the attitudes to professional containment methods and Perception of Aggression Scale. Results. While pro re nata medication was used commonly, time-out was infrequently used in the wards. Intermittent observation, pro re nata medication and containment in the psychiatric intensive care unit were the most approved methods. The use of net beds was the least approved method. Nurses who perceive aggression as dysfunctional/undesirable are more likely to approve compulsory intramuscular medication and mechanical restraint. Conclusion. These results showed that nurses' perception of aggression is an important factor influencing the choice of a professional containment method. Relevance to clinical practice. This study might lead to closer critiquing of psychiatric ward nurses' attitudes towards professional containment methods, leading to a decrease in the usage of these methods.

The Effect of the Health Personnel Exposed to the Attack of Patients and Relatives on the Perception of Aggression

“…In a study conducted in psychiatry wards in Turkey, the mean score of nurses' perceptions of functional aggression (2.95) was higher than our findings. In contrast, the mean score for dysfunctional (3.38) was lower [26]. Patients hospitalized in the Emergency Psychiatry ward usually demonstrate aggressive behaviour.…”

“…The scale has two sub-dimensions. Functional (acceptable-healthy reaction) consists of 12 items (3,6,7,8,16,18,20,23,24,25,27,28) and 17 items if dysfunctional (unacceptable-unwanted aggression) (1, 2, 4, 5, 9, 10,11,12,13,14,15,17,19,21,22,26,29). Average sub-dimensions are obtained by dividing the score obtained from the sub-dimension by the number of items in that sub-dimension.…”

La contención mecánica en los cuidados del paciente con trastorno mental: Una aproximación conceptual y crítica

“…En relación a la vivencia del profesional de enfermería frente a la contención mecánica y los factores que la influencian, es necesario incidir en el hecho de que el cuidado o abordaje a una persona en situación de agitación psicomotriz no se debe realizar en solitario (Chinchilla, 2011;Megias et al, 2016;Stucchi et al, 2014;Vieta et al, 2017). Las experiencias y la forma de obrar de cada uno está influenciada por la de sus propios compañeros y a la inversa, de este modo se crea la Ward culture (Keser et al, 2015;Korkeila et al, 2016) o cómo se podría traducir: la cultura de sala. Así pues una persona con menos experiencia, al incorporarse en el equipo emula las actitudes de compañeros más veteranos para poder acomodar sus propios valores y emociones (Cocho et al, 2018).…”

“…Esta cultura común ayuda a disminuir la disonancia cognitiva de los miembros del equipo (Cocho et al, 2018;Keser et al, 2015;Korkeila et al, 2016). Otro fenómeno que aparece en los equipos de enfermería que prestan servicios a personas con sufrimiento mental es el soporte emocional y el debriefing tras el uso de una medida coercitiva (Cocho et al, 2018;Sastre y Campaña, 2014).…”

Putting Restraint on Chemical Restraint: Exploring the Complexity of Acute Inpatient Mental Health Nurses' Experience of Chemical Restraint Interventions

“…There are three types of restraint typically used in acute mental health inpatient settings: physical, environmental, and chemical (Emmanuel et al, 2013;Keser Özcan et al, 2015;National Consumer and Carer Forum, 2009). Restraint use has been a common nursing practice in acute inpatient mental health care settings (Chieze et al, 2019;Garriga et al, 2016;Landeweer et al, 2010).…”