Abstract
Ethical standards and current law demand that acute care psychiatric patients be treated
with respect, using the least restrictive interventions. Unfortunately, as restraint use has
decreased, assault and injury of mental health care workers has increased. Violence
against those working in acute care psychiatry is a serious global issue that needs further
examination. This study provides current, in depth information about the nature,
frequency and severity of assaults and injuries of psychiatric nurses. This study also
examined assault and injury in relation to the nurse’s decision to restrain. The findings
of this study were compared with findings of an earlier study carried out by one of the
authors (Moylan) prior to the institution of policies, which are more restrictive in the use
of restraint. In a sample of 110 nurses from five institutions, 80% of the nurses were
assaulted, 65% had been injured and 26% had been seriously injured. Injuries included
fractures, eye injuries and permanent disability. The number and severity of injuries have
increased significantly since the 1996 study. Nurses who had been injured decided to
restrain later in the progression of aggression than those who had not been injured