Occupational Hazard: Disruptive Behavior in Patients

Effects of Disruptive Behavior

DB has negative consequences for both patients and health care workers and results in poor evaluations of care from both groups.^27-32 Aside from interfering with safe medical care, DB also impacts care for other patients by delaying access to care and increasing appointment wait times due to employee absenteeism and staff shortages.^3,4,20,32,33 For HCPs, patient violence is associated with unwillingness to provide care, briefer treatment periods, and decreases in occupational satisfaction, performance, and commitment.^10,28,31 Coping with DB can compromise the HCP’s ability to stay focused and engaged in providing health care, increasing errors.^9,15,31

Harmful health effects experienced by HCPs who have been victims of DB include fear, mood disorders, anxiety, all symptoms of psychological distress and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).^{10,22,30,34-36} In a study of the impact on productivity of PTSD triggered by job-related DB, PTSD symptoms were associated with withdrawal from or minimizing encounters with patients, job turnover, and troubles with thinking.^35,36 Nurses with PTSD symptoms who stayed on the job had difficulty staying cognitively focused and managing “higher level work demands that required attention to detail or communication skills.”³⁶ Due to the detrimental impact of DB, it is reasonable to expect a decrease in the quality of care rendered to patients by impacted employees. The quality of care for all patients of HCPs who have experienced a DB is poorer than that of patients of HCPs who have not experienced a DB.²⁹

Reporting Disruptive Behavior

The literature suggests that consistent and effective DB reporting is pivotal to improving the outcome and quality of care for those displaying DB.^37-39 To provide high-quality health services to veterans who display DB, the VHA must promote the management and reporting of DB. Without knowledge of the full spectrum of DB events at VHA facilities, efforts to prevent or manage DB and ensure safety may have limited impact.^7,37 Reports can be used for clinical decision making to optimize staff training in delivery of quality care while assuring staff safety. More than 80% of DB incidents occur during interactions with patients, thus this is a clinical issue that can affect the outcome of patient care.^8,21

Documented DB reports are used to analyze the degree, frequency, and nature of incidents, which might reveal risk factors and develop preventive efforts and training for specific hazards.^8,39 Some have argued that implementing a standardized DB reporting system is a crucial first step toward minimizing hazards and improving health care.^38,40,41

When DB incidents were recorded through a hospital electronic reporting system and discussed in meetings, staff reported: (1) increased awareness of DB; (2) improved ability to manage DB incidents; and (3) amplified reporting of incidents.^38,41,42 These findings support similar results from studies of an intervention implemented at VA Community Living Centers (CLCs) from 2013 to 2017: Staff Training in Assisted Living Residences (STAR-VA).^4,12,19 The aim of STAR-VA was to minimize challenging dementia-related DB in CLCs. The intervention initially was established to train direct-care, assisted-living staff to provide better care to older patients displaying DB. Data revealed that documentation of DBs was, the first step to ensuring staff and patient safety.^18,40