PERCEPTIONS OF VIOLENCE OF NURSES WHO WORK AT THE PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL IN THE STATE OF BAHRAIN

Abstract

ABSTRACT : The aim of this study is to explore and describe perceptions of violence of some of the nurses who work at a Psychiatric Hospital in the State of Bahrain. A qualitative research approach, with an exploratory descriptive design was used. Twenty-one nurses were selected by simple random sampling from seven areas of the Psychiatric Hospital. An interview, with an interview guide. was used to collect the data. Eight major categories were identified from the interview guide, which yielded thirty-one sub-categories. The findings will be presented from a content analysis of the interview material. The major findings were that most of the subjects defined violence as the use of physical force and many used the word "aggression" to define violence. This was supported in the literature. The majority of the subjects identified the following as causes of violence: mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, mania, etc., unmet needs and demands of the patients, environmental factors, such as noise, overcrowding and lack of occupational and recreational facilities and nurses' attitudes and approaches towards the patients. Also, patients' characteristics, such as attention-seeking, demanding and lack of confidence, were linked with violence. Many of the subjects felt that nurses play an important role in preventing violence and recommended that all nurses should be trained in how to deal with violent patients. Communication was also seen as important in order to prevent violence and one subject reported that the language barrier for non-Arabic speakers was a problem. Of the 21 staff nurses interviewed, 18 had experienced physical assaults by a patient at least once. The feelings reported by some of the subjects were "sadness", and "being threatened". This was supported by a study conducted by Lanza (1983) in order to find out nurses' responses in social, emotional and biophysiological functioning. The majority of the subjects in this study reported that, if they had the chance to choose where to work, they would choose to work with non-violent patients. The reasons why were not investigated in depth, due to time limits. Based on the findings, recommendations are made in order to make improvements in practice, education and further research in this area.