Abstract
Introduction
Patient violence in health care facilities occurs daily. Structured risk assessments,
when regularly completed, have been effective in prompting interventions to reduce
aggression in Behavioral Health (BH) settings.
Methods
This quasi-experimental study evaluated the effectiveness of the Dynamic Appraisal
of Situational Aggression – Inpatient Version (DASA) validated screening tool to reduce
aggressive outbursts in an emergency department (ED) setting with BH patients awaiting
transfer to a psychiatric facility. The tool was used in 4 non-psychiatric EDs from
a large health care system. Chart audits were completed to record initial patient
DASA scores observed at triage and at subsequent intervals during the ED encounter.
ED staff documented interventions used for patients. Inclusion criteria included adults
21 years and older following a telepsychiatry consultation with a recommendation for
BH inpatient admission. Pre-/post-implementation aggressive events were collected
to assess ED DASA use. DASA scores from BH ED patients were examined to increase understanding
of patient utilization. Staff workplace safety was examined to compare staff safety
perception pre- and post-DASA implementation.
Results
Violent events were reported statistically significantly higher post-DASA implementation.
There was an increased risk of elevated DASA scores for specific diagnoses and genders.
An increased awareness of the importance of reporting workplace violence improved
documentation.
Discussion
Using an evidence-based screening tool helped identify BH patients with behaviors
associated with aggressive ED events. Proactive use of interventions, including use
of Comfort Cart items, de-escalation, and prescribed medications, can positively influence
reduction of risk from aggressive behaviors within BH patient populations in EDs.
Key words
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Biography
Bonnie Hamrick is a Nurse Manager, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4402-2725.
Biography
Tracy Van Hassel is the Director of Informatics, South Carolina Department of Mental Health, Columbia, SC. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9554-6388.
Biography
Dorinda Snyder is a Service Line Nurse Educator, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2092-4262.
Biography
Casey Stephens is an Associate Health Services Researcher, Atrium Health, Charlotte, NC. ORCID identifier: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0792-5092.
Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 19, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Corrected ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 Emergency Nurses Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
