Issues in mental health nursing
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Issues Ment Health Nurs · Dec 2016
Randomized Controlled TrialAggression in Psychiatric Wards: Effect of the Use of a Structured Risk Assessment.
Health care workers are often exposed to violence and aggression in psychiatric settings. Short-term risk assessments, such as the Brøset Violence Checklist (BVC), are strong predictors of such aggression and may enable staff to take preventive measures against aggression. This study evaluated whether the routine use of the BVC could reduce the frequency of patient aggression. ⋯ The regression discontinuity analysis found a 45% reduction in the risk of aggression (Odds Ratio (OR) = 0.55, 95% confidence interval: 0.21-1.43). The study did not find a significant reduction in the risk of aggression after implementing a systematic short-term risk assessment with the BVC. Although our findings suggest that use of the BVC may reduce the risk of aggression, the results need to be confirmed in studies with more statistical power.