Lived Experiences of Nurses who have been Assaulted by Patients at a Psychiatric Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Lived Experiences of Nurses who have been Assaulted by Patients at a Psychiatric Hospital in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Several nurses in various hospital settings have been victims of assault in multiple ways. Assault, in this case, refers to any intentional act that inflicts fear in an individual that another person is about to harm them. It does not have to be physical acts only but also includes verbal actions or pretense to hit a nurse in whichever setting. This study focuses on the experiences that nurses endure in psychiatric hospitals. The danger of assault in these settings is relatively more severe because of the level of care that mentally patients need. The aggression might be perpetrated by the patient or his relatives but will end up affecting the nurse.

The study will adopt Clark’s (1994) transcendental phenomenology as a research design to collect quantitative data, while secondary information will be sourced from journals, books, and articles. There have been several cases of assault in psychiatric hospitals, but very few victims report them because of various personal reasons. The significant effects of assault are physical injuries, mental/emotional trauma, job dissatisfaction, reduced turnover, and less productivity. Focus groups will be used as the primary data collection technique as well as a snowballing sampling technique to establish the sample size.

Recruitment Procedures

The researcher will design digital recruitment flyers (See Appendix) and submit to the director of programs in selected psychiatric hospitals electronically. The director of programs will notify nurses, and those willing to participate in the study after informed consent will reply formally via e-mails.

The applicants will be assessed through the inclusion criteria, and those who shall have met the requirements of participating in the study will be communicated to. Since the research only involves practicing registered nurses with a working experience of 1 year, the flyers will only be posted to selected psychiatric hospital websites.

Methods

Due to the possibly large number of participants, focus groups were chosen to be used as a data collection technique in this study. The decision was also arrived at because it is most appropriate in getting information from a group of people who have thoughts and feelings about a topic. At the same time, participants tend to give an account of their nursing experiences conclusively since open-ended questions and non-structured interview method will also be used.

The nurses who will participate in the study must have responded to the recruitment flyer, met the requirements of the inclusion criteria, and signed the form of informed consent. Upon completion of the survey, follow up activities in the way of interviews and administering questionnaires will be conducted with the respondents.

Alternative Procedures

All participants will have the liberty of withdrawing from the study whenever they wish to. Participation is voluntary, and the study will observe the right of informed consent. Those participants who are not able or willing to use focus groups might favor audio and video teleconferencing with the researcher for an agreed duration.

Benefits

The study respondents might not benefit directly from the study apart from the tokens of appreciation (Visas, gifts, and vouchers). The information derived from the study will, however, be useful in raising awareness about the research problem, which might benefit other nurses yet to begin practicing as psychiatrists. The data might also influence policymaking in the country and eradicate or minimize such cases through rules and regulations.

Risks

This study will not pose the respondents to any physical threats. However, there are certain psychological and social risks that participants might face as a result of participating in the study. Guilt and loss of self-esteem because of the disclosure of particular personal nursing experience is likely to get the better of individual participants. There is a risk of the possibility of a breach of privacy, which might follow the revealing of certain sensitive information as well. All these risks have been addressed by the researcher and the fact that the Institutional Review Board approved the study (IRB); all mitigation strategies have been put in place to avoid the occurrence of these risks.

Confidentiality

Below is a description of strategies that will ensure information from respondents is kept confidential:

• IRB’s approval will be sought for

privacy.

• The participant will choose a convenient, safe, confidential, or private mode of the interview.
• Online transmitted files will be saved in a password protected Cloud sever by the researcher.
• Demographic data and consent forms will be stored electronically in a password-protected personal computer.
• Teleconferenced communications will be transcribed and saved confidentially.
• The report will be wholesome/an integration of all data for confidentiality purposes.

Letter of Consent

(Place Faculty Letterhead)

Insert Date

Dear (Insert name of Prospective Participant),

You are being invited to participate in research on the lived experiences of nurses who have been assaulted by patients in psychiatric hospitals in Saudi Arabia. It will take close to 1 hour. The interview will be conducted at your preferred location. No real risks are anticipated in the study. All possible measures have been taken to ensure your privacy and confidentiality is kept.

You will participate voluntarily and tokens of appreciation (Visas, Gifts, and vouchers0 will be given to volunteers. The results from this study will be published in journals to help the development of the body of knowledge of these nursing experience.

In case you wish to find out more about the study, feel free to talk to (Researchers’ Name) on (Enter Researcher’s Phone Number).

I have read the above information relating to the study, as mentioned above, and consent to participate.

Name:

Signature:

Date:

Demographic Data

Name:

1. Gender: ( ) Female ( ) male ( ) non-binary/third gender ( ) prefer not to answer
2. Age group: [] 25-34 [] 35-44 []45-54[] 55-64 [] 65+
3. Highest degree: [] BSN [] MSN [] DNP [] PhD
4. Working Experience (Years)_______________
5. Current Work status: [] Full-time [] Part-time
6. Do you currently work in a Psychiatric Hospital [] NO [] YES; If yes, for how long? ___
7. What type of hospital did you experience assault?

Status: [] Community [] Teaching [] Academic [] Research [] Other___________

Appendix A: Interview Questions

1. Why did you choose to do psychiatric nursing? Kindly share with me what your most excellent nursing skill is.
2. Did you ever imagine this profession would have such safety risks? Tell me about your thoughts on nursing in a psychiatric hospital?
3. Have you ever witnessed or heard about cases of assault on nurses in your hospital?
4. Would you share with me the particulars and descriptions of the case?
5. What effects do you think or have seen these assaults have on nurses, patients, and the hospital as a whole?
6. Have you been a victim of assault before? How did it happen, and what effects did it have on you, your job, or your family?
7. What do you think leads to the occurrence of these cases in psychiatric hospitals compared to other hospitals that you might have been to?
8. Do you have any propositions on what should be done to minimize these cases in psychiatric hospitals?