A cross-sectional survey of factors related to inpatient assault of staff in a forensic XXXX hospital.

@entity1 @entity146
AIM: To understand staff factors associated with @entity1 aggression towards the staff of an inpatient forensic @entity146 hospital. BACKGROUND: Violence by @entity1 is a serious concern in @entity146 hospitals and staff are the most frequent targets of physical and verbal assault. Assault and its consequences can severely disrupt the hospital environment and impair the functioning of staff members and @entity1 . This study examined the interplay of staff dispositional and interpersonal factors associated with @entity1 violence. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study surveyed the staff of a large public forensic hospital. METHODS: A sample of 348 @entity146 staff participated in an online survey about their workplace experiences, psychosocial characteristics and well-being. Data were collected from November - December 2011. FINDINGS: Nearly all staff reported verbal conflict with @entity1 (99%) and 70% reported being assaulted during the previous 12  months. Verbal conflict with other staff (92%) was also high. Multiple regression analyses indicated that in addition to static risk factors (i.e. staff position, years of experience and gender), the risk of assault was associated with the frequency of conflicts with staff and @entity1 , which in turn was moderated by personal stress reactivity. CONCLUSION: Physical violence by @entity1 was a pervasive threat for a high proportion of staff. Frequent conflict interactions with volatile @entity1 contributed the most risk, but reactivity to conflict was a dynamic risk factor. The strain associated with assault risk and stress reactivity could be prospectively mitigated by resilience enhancement programming for staff.
