INTRODUCTION: Occupational violence has been demonstrated to impact negatively on the wellbeing of nurses and patients. Staff attitudes towards causes and management of patients' aggression influences their practice. Training is likely to influence attitudes towards aggression; however, Uganda's health system lacks adequate resources to provide aggression management training for staff.
AIM: To assess the impact of a training programme (RESPECT) on staff attitudes towards causes and management of patient's aggression in a Ugandan hospital.
METHODS: This study used a mixed-methods convergent design. A convenience sample of nurses and support staff employed in the psychiatric ward and other services across the hospital (N=90) completed the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale (MAVAS) pre-and-post-training. The views of a smaller sample (n=35) were captured via interviews and focus groups and analysed using thematic analysis.
RESULTS: Participants reported greater agreement with patients' physical and social environment (External and Situational causative models) as factors influencing patient's aggression. Qualitative findings substantiated the results identified in the survey. Attitudes towards seclusion, restraint and medication remained unchanged.
DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: RESPECT has the potential to change staff attitudes towards aggression in the short-term. Further research is needed to investigate long-term effects and impact on incidents of aggression. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Language: en
Keywords
Aggression; Attitudes; Global Mental health care; LMIC; Nursing; Staff training; Workplace violence