Violence as psychosocial risk in the work of psychiatric nurses and management strategies

Abstract

Objective: To analyze the presence of violence as psychosocial risk from the perception of nurses in a psychiatric hospital, as well as the management strategies implemented to address this risk. Methods:Qualitative study with 25 nurses working in a psychiatric hospital. Data collection was carried out from November 2014 to January 2015 through semi-structured interviews. The data were analyzed and organized into thematic categories following three stages: pre-analysis, exploration of the material and treatment of the results obtained. Participants were identified by the letter "E" and received sequential Arabic numeral numbers, thus guaranteeing the anonymity of the speeches. Thus, they were referenced from E1 to E25. The study was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of São Paulo at Ribeirão Preto College of Nursing, Brazil.Results: Violence exists in the everyday routine of psychiatric nurses, with the presence of scratches, pinches, kicks, pushes, squeezes against the wall, biting, aggression with the use of objects, among others, and the management strategies consist in appeals to the family, the cinema, music, reading, exercise, therapy, religion.

The Impact of Work Environment on Job Satisfaction

“…Restorative practices have been found to lessen the sufferings, anxieties, and concerns generated in the workplace and provide inner peace and spiritual support. 9 Assuming responsibility for one’s health and well-being is important to being a contributing member of the workforce and to society at large. Managers must find ways to support these efforts as part of life at work.…”

Riscos psicossociais relacionados ao trabalho do enfermeiro da Saúde da Família e estratégias de gerenciamento

“…In line with the presented, the literature describes individual and institutional strategies for the management of psychosocial risks at other levels of healthcare, such as physical exercise, cinema, spiritual support, search for therapies, dialogue with family members, music, reading, travel, outings, continuing education programs, an effective internal communication system, job and salary plans, among others (15) .…”

“…Women and younger professionals were more affected by violence, and patients and family members were the main aggressors of these professionals. In addition, nurses have been victims of physical violence (15) .…”