Measures and narratives of the nature, causes and consequences of violent assaults and risk perception of psychiatric hospitals in Ghana: Mental Health workers’ perspectives
Date
2021
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
International Journal of Mental Health Nursing
Abstract
Literature shows that mental healthcare workers in Ghana face incessant fear of
patient violence that compromise safe care delivery. However, the nature, scale, perceived causes,
and consequences of these assaults and how they shape risk perceptions have received limited
empirical attention, hence the need for this study. The study employed sequential explanatory
mixed methods where questionnaire administration preceded and informed the design of an
interview guide used for in-depth interviews with health workers in referral psychiatric hospitals.
Descriptive statistics and multivariate logistic regressions were used to analyze the quantitative
data. Qualitative data were transcribed and analyzed thematically. Findings showed that physical
and non-physical violent assaults and risk perceptions of the hospitals were statistically and
significantly associated with females (P < 0.01), nurses (P < 0.01), other clinical cadre (P < 0.01),
and those with low job tenure (P < 0.05). About 57% and 71% of the sample reported
experiencing physical and non-physical assaults, respectively. Major and minor injuries and
psychosocial problems were frequent sequelae following physical violent assaults. As a result, 80%
of the participants perceived the hospitals environment to be unsafe to provide care. Violent
assaults compromises safety and care delivery efforts suggesting the need for systematic
interventions to minimize mental healthcare workers exposure to patient violence.
Description
Research article
Keywords
mental health worker, patient violence, psychiatric hospital, safety, violent assault