Citation

Gale C, Arroll B, Coverdale J. Int. J. Psychiatry Med. 2009; 39(1): 79-87.

Affiliation

Department of Psychological Medicine, Dunedin School of Medicine, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. christopher.gale@stonebow.otago.ac.nz

Copyright

(Copyright © 2009, SAGE Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19650531

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: We surveyed the prevalence of various types of threats or assaults by patients against psychiatrists and determined the impact of the most distressing event. METHOD: An anonymous questionnaire was mailed to all 308 vocationally registered psychiatrists practicing in New Zealand. RESULTS: A response rate of 63.9% (n = 197) was obtained. In the preceding 12 months, as many as 46% (n = 89) of respondents had been verbally threatened and 39% (n = 76) had been physically intimidated by patients. In addition 16% (n = 32) had been assaulted without requiring medical attention, 14% (n = 27) had been harassed through formal complaint mechanisms, 10% (n = 20) had been sexually harassed, and 5% (n = 9) had been stalked. As indicated by responses on the Impact of Event Scale, only one-third of the psychiatrists had any symptoms related to the most distressing event and only two had symptoms that might be associated with clinically significant levels of distress. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of these events suggest a need for the development and evaluation of preventive interventions.

Language: en