@article{ref1,
title="Psychiatric hospital workers' exposure to disturbing patient behavior and its relation to post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms",
journal="Canadian journal of nursing research",
year="2017",
author="Hilton, N. Zoe and Ham, Elke and Dretzkat, Alecia",
volume="49",
number="3",
pages="118-126",
abstract="Background About 10% of health-care workers experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD); the rate is higher among workers exposed to aggression. <br><br>OBJECTIVE We extended this research by examining PTSD and exposure to violence and other disturbing patient behaviors, among nursing and other staff on inpatient psychiatric units (forensic and nonforensic). <br><br>METHOD Surveys were completed online or in person by 219 respondents (30% response rate). Participants indicated which disturbing behaviors they had been exposed to and ranked the worst three behaviors in each of three categories: most unpleasant to work with, most disruptive to patient care, and most upsetting. Most ( n = 192) also completed the PTSD Checklist (PCL). <br><br>RESULTS All but two participants reported exposure to at least one disturbing behavior and ranked violence, feces smearing, and screaming constantly as the worst experiences overall. On the PCL, 24% scored above the cut off for probable PTSD. Nursing staff had the highest scores, with no difference between nursing staff on forensic versus nonforensic units. PCL score showed a small positive correlation with the number of disturbing behaviors experienced. <br><br>CONCLUSION PTSD symptoms are common among psychiatric hospital workers, not only nursing staff. Future research using clinical assessment, longitudinal designs, and measurement of nonviolent disturbing behaviors is recommended.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0844-5621",
doi="10.1177/0844562117719202",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0844562117719202"
}