Citation

Tadros A, Kiefer C. Psychiatr. Clin. North Am. 2017; 40(3): 575-584.

Affiliation

Department of Emergency Medicine, Health Science Center, West Virginia University, PO Box 9149, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.psc.2017.05.016

PMID

28800811

Abstract

Violence against health care workers is an unfortunately common event. Because of several inherent factors, emergency departments are particularly vulnerable. Once an incident occurs, it often goes unreported and leads to both physical and mental trauma. Health care workers should learn to recognize the cues that patients are escalating toward violence and be familiar with various options for sedating agitated patients. If sedation is not successful, physical restraint may become necessary. There are measures that can be taken that may help minimize the likelihood of violence toward health care workers. These measures include legislation, physical design, and increased security.

Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Emergency department; Health care workers; Patient violence