Violent Behavior in Healthcare Institutions - Research Paper Example

Workplace violence can be categorized into different forms depending on the nature of healthcare institute, characteristics of patients and external environment, for instance, physical assault and verbal abuse is experienced by most of the medical staff. Violent behavior particularly in the mental healthcare setting has become a reality and also a major concern for both healthcare providers and policy makers. Therefore mental illness and psychological issues are thought to be the precipitating factors of violent behavior among patients.

This paper aims to discuss the basic factors giving rise to sadistic behavior in healthcare institutions along with the responsibilities of medical stuff and dynamics of violence. Moreover, the intervention strategies and effective methods to follow up with victims shall also be discussed. Precipitating Factors There are number of factors contributing to the violent behavior of patients and physical assault of medical staff in Healthcare Institutions. Human Service providers in general, and nurses in particular are often exposed to critical conditions where they need to identify the precipitating factors of violent behavior in order to make security measures and also to safeguard the victims.

Following are the most common factors which excites violent behavior among patients: Mental Illness: Mental illness is an abnormal psychological pattern which often leads to behavioral issues. There are different forms of mental illness which might result in violent behavior against the healthcare professionals. For instance, delusions have a very close relationship with violence since these patients frequently experience physical or mental insecurity due to which they harm others in order to save themselves.

However, in this case anger contributes as the major element to excite the violent behavior. Study shows that Delusions might cause minor forms of violence but the extreme violent behavior is usually supported by anger which is a personality disorder (Coid, 2013). Another important precipitating factor is hallucination which causes an individual to feel, hear or visualize things which aren’t present. In such a situation patients who do not have command over the hallucinations harm the medical staff while others does not pose any significant threat to the service providers (McNiel, 2000).

Violent fantasies such as desire to murder or rape also lead to aggressive behavior if not addressed on time. Homicides in healthcare setting are often due to the violent fantasies (Gellerman, 2005). Organic Issues: These largely include diseases and injuries related to brain. Patients with organic brain issues are reported to have been involved in violent behavior. For instance, Dementia causes damage to the memory, speaking abilities, problem solving skills and other significant brain functions of an individual which ultimately leads to aggression and sadistic conduct.

Similarly brain injuries caused by accidents might also lead to considerable behavioral changes which might transform an individual into a violent personality (Fountoulakis, 2008). Personality Disorders: These occupy the largest proportion as precipitating factor of violent behavior against healthcare service providers. Mood swings, anger, impulsivity, lack of control over emotions, psychopathy etc. are the most common examples of personality disorders. Research indicates that issues concerning the social life of an