Aggression from the perspective of patients and nurses: An integrated study on the evaluation of aggression in psychiatric clinics

The research, which consists of 2 stages, was planned in a randomized controlled and descriptive design, aiming to evaluate the effect of the training given to nurses working in psychiatric clinics on the use of aggression and BVC (Broset Violence Checklist) on the nurses' perceptions of aggression and the compliance of the use of BVC, which they evaluated for the patients watched in the videos, with the BVC determined by expert opinion, and then to evaluate the relationship between the violence risk levels evaluated by the nurses selected from the clinics based on their observation of the patients treated in the clinics where they work and the aggression and impulsivity of the patients. The study was conducted in Adana Doctor Ekrem Tok Mental Health and Diseases Hospital between July 2021 and April 2022. A total of 97 nurses working in psychiatric clinics, 47 in the training group and 50 in the comparison group, participated in the study. A pre-test was administered to the nurses and nurses in the training group were randomized and given training including aggression and BVC use. After the training, a post-test was administered to all nurses. Then, one nurse from each clinic in the training and comparison group was selected from the patient clinics by randomization method, and the risk of violence of the patients was evaluated by using BVC in the study shift in which the data were collected with the aggression and impulsivity scale from the patients (n=132) treated in the clinics of the selected nurses. As a result of the study, it was determined that the nurses in the training and comparison groups showed homogeneous distribution. It was determined that the training given to nurses on aggression and the use of BVC was effective on nurses' perceptions of aggression. At the same time, it was concluded that the training was effective on the compliance of the BVC evaluated by the nurses for the patients shown in the videos with the BVC evaluation determined by expert opinion. It was concluded that there was a significant positive correlation between patients' self-reported aggression and impulsivity and the level of violence risk assessed by the nurses in the training group (F= 9,141 p= 0.001). Key Words: Aggression, Aggression in Psychiatric Clinics, Impulsiveness, Perseption of Aggression, Risk Level of Violence