Citation

Colenda CC, Hamer RM. Hosp. Community Psychiatry 1991; 42(3): 287-292.

Affiliation

Bowman Gray School of Medicine, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27103.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1991, American Psychiatric Association)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

1903126

Abstract

Aggressive geropsychiatric patients pose major problems for long-term care facilities. Two exploratory surveys at a geropsychiatric state hospital, separated by brief programs of inservice training on managing aggressive patients, examined several aspects of aggressive behavior and staff interventions. Major findings included a stable overall prevalence of aggressive behavior in both survey periods; a persistently higher prevalence of aggression and a higher rate of physical aggression among dementia patients than among other patients; and staff-patient exchanges as a major triggering event for aggression. In the survey period after the inservice training, staff interventions remained similar for nondementia patients; however, for dementia patients, interpersonal interventions were used less frequently, and p.r.n. medications, alone or in combination with seclusion or restraint, were used more often.

Language: en