Characteristics of staff victims of psychiatric patient assaults: Updated review of findings, 1995-2001

Abstract

This paper examines the peer-reviewed, databasedjournal articles on the characteristics of staffvictims ofpsychiatric patient assaults from 1995 to 2001. These studies partially confirm earlier-findings in that patient assaults on staff victims continue across all disciplines. Unlike findings in earlier reviews, this review found that psychiatric residents and older, more experienced nurses were at highest riskfor violence. Since there is little empirical data on staff victims of assaults by Alzheimers and other dementia patients, this paper will explore the implications of the presentfindingsfor long-term care settings.