Exploring Staff Experiences of Patient Perpetrated Violence: A Qualitative Interview Study

Qualitative interview study;
• Interviews held in June-August 2022; • Approvals granted by the University
Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust R&D Department (GF0480).
VIOLENCE IMPACTS
Physical and psychological injury, emotional fatigue and burnout
Impacted work performance, reduced productivity
Task delays, medication errors, disruptions to patient care
WHAT DO WE KNOW?
• Health and care sector staff face a higher risk of violence at work than most other sectors.
• The NHS is facing unprecedented demand in the wake of COVID-19, with record numbers of frontline staff leaving the service.
• Many have come to see violence as a normal part of the job.
STUDY OBJECTIVE
To explore staff experiences and perceptions of patient-perpetrated violence in hospital settings.
PARTICIPANTS
• Convenience sample of hospital staff (n=12);
• Sample included nurses (3), doctors (2), allied health professionals (5), hospital security (1) and a non-clinical manager (1).
• All identified themselves as having a role that involved managing and/or witnessing violence.
THEMATIC FINDINGS
Violence as (un)predictable
Violence as (un)preventable
The cumulative toll of violence
ANALYSIS
• Data were organised, managed and analysed using the Framework Approach;
• Attribution Theory used as a theoretical lens.