Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t8hqh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T22:46:13.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Violence and aggression in the Drug Treatment Centre Board

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2014

Peter Whitty  and
John J O'Connor
Peter Whitty
Affiliation:
East London and the City Mental Health NHS Trust, Glen Road, Plaistow, LondonE13 8SP
John J O'Connor
Affiliation:
Drug Treatment Centre Board, Trinity Court, 30-31 Pearse Street, Dublin 2, Ireland
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Objectives: We sought to determine the prevalence of and the factors associated with violent and aggressive incidents among clients attending an out-patient methadone stabilisation and detoxification programme in Dublin.

Methods: We retrospectively examined all incident report forms over a two-year period. We also obtained information on demographics, main drug of abuse, timing and location of the incident as well as psychiatric and physical comorbidity among the perpetrators from case note review.

Results: Two hundred and ninety-five incidents occurred over the study period. The overall rate of violence and aggression was 85 per 1,000 clients attending the centre per year. Most incidents involved verbal abuse. Females were significantly more likely to be involved in assaults compared to males. A high proportion of clients (80%) who were physically aggressive tested positive for benzodiazepine medication.

Conclusions: Levels of recorded violence have remained stable however racial abuse has increased in recent years. The relatively low overall rate of violence suggests that existing measures have helped reduce the number of aggressive and violent incidents in the centre. Most of the victims were either doctors, nursing staff or general assistants. This finding reflected their respective roles in the centre, which included limit setting and dealing with positive drug screens among clients.

Keywords

Violenceaggressionmethadone maintenance and detoxification.
Type
Original Papers
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 2006 , pp. 89 - 91
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Hobbs, FD. Violence in general practice: a survey of general practitioners' views. BMJ 1991; 302: 329–332.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
2.Fernandes, C, Bouthillette, F, Raboud, Jet al.Violence in the emergency department: a survey of health care workers. CMAJ 1999; 161: 1245–1248.Google ScholarPubMed
3.Winstanley, S, Whittington, R. Aggression towards health care staff in a UK general hospital: variation among professions and departments. J Clin Nurs 2004; 13: 3–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Owen, C, Jones, M, Tennant, C. Violence and aggression in psychiatric units. Psychiatr Serv 1998; 49: 1452–1457.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Calcedo-Barba, AL, Calcedo-Ordonez, A. Violence and paranoid schizophrenia. Int J Law Psychiatry 1994; 17: 253–263.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Krakowski, MI, Czobor, P. Clinical symptoms, neurological impairment, and prediction of violence in psychiatric in patients. Hosp Community Psychiatry 1994; 45: 700–705.Google Scholar
7.Morrison, EF. A coercive interactive style as an antecedent to aggression and violence in psychiatric inpatients. Res Nurse Health 1992; 15: 421–431.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8.Palmstierna, T, Wistedt, B. Risk factors for aggressive behaviour are of limited value in predicting the violent behaviour of acute involuntary admitted patients. Acta Psychiatr Scand 1989; 81: 152–155.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9.Foley, SR, Kelly, BD, Clarke, M, Mc Tigue, O, Gervin, M, Kamali, M, Larkin, C, O'Callaghan, E, Browne, S. Incidence and clinical correlates of aggression and violnce at presentation in patients with first episode psychosis. Schizophr Res 2005; 72: 161–168.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
10.Miller, RJ, Zadolinnyj, K, Hafner, RJ. Profiles and predictors of assaultiveness for different psychiatric ward populations. Am J Psychiatry; 1993; 150: 1368–1373.Google ScholarPubMed
11.James, DV, Fineberg, NA, Shah, AK, Priest, RG. An increase in violence on an acute psychiatric ward: a study of associated factors. Br J Psychiatry 1990; 156: 846–852.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
12.Katz, P, Kirkland, FR. Violence and social structure on mental hospital wards. Psychiatry 1990; 53: 262–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Health and safety authority 2001. Prevention of violence in healthcare. DublinH.S.A. National Audit Office 2003.Google Scholar
14.Fahy, S, Brown, R, Sloan, D, Keating, S, O'Connor, J. An audit of violent incidents in the drug treatment center. Ir J Psych Med 2000; 17: 29–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
15.Walker, Z, Seifert, R. Violent incidents in a psychiatric intensive care unit. B J Psych 1994; 164: 826–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16.Black, KJ, Compton, WM, Wetzel, M, Minchin, S, Farber, NB, Rastogi-Cruz, D. Assaults by patients on psychiatric residents at three training sites. Hosp Community Psychiatry 1994; 45: 706–710.Google ScholarPubMed
17.Larkin, E, Murtagh, S, Jones, S. A preliminary study of violent incidents in a special hospital (Rampton). B J Psych 1988; 153: 226–231.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
18.Walker, Z, Seifert, R. Violent incidents in psychiatric intensive care units. Br J Psychiatry 1994; 164: 826–828.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19.Norko, MA, Baranoski, MV. The state of contemporary risk assessment research. Can J Psychiatry 2005; 50:18–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Hoaken, PN, Stewart, SH. Drug abuse and the elicitation of human aggressive behaviour. Addict Behav 2003; 28: 1533–1554.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
21.Mathew, VM, Dursun, SM, Reveley, MA. Increased aggressive, violent, and impulsive behaviour in patients during chronic-prolonged benzodiazepine use. Can J Psychiatry 2000; 45: 89–90.Google ScholarPubMed
22. Report of the benzodiazepine committee. Department of Health and Children. 2002.Google Scholar