“But I did not touch nobody!” – Patients’ and nurses’ perspectives and recommendations after aggression on psychiatric wards

Aims: To gain a deeper understanding of the differences in patients and staff per‐<br/>spectives in response to aggression and to explore recommendations on prevention.<br/><br/>Design: Qualitative, grounded theory study.<br/>Methods: We conducted semi‐structured interviews with patients and nurses in‐<br/>volved in an aggressive incident. Data collection was performed from May 2016 ‐<br/>March 2017.<br/><br/>Results: Thirty‐one interviews were conducted concerning 15 aggressive incidents.<br/>Patients and nurses generally showed agreement on the factual course of events,<br/>there was variation in agreement on the perceived severity (PS). Patients' recom‐<br/>mendations on prevention were mostly personally focussed, while nurses suggested general improvements.<br/><br/>Conclusion: Patients are often capable to evaluate aggression and give recom‐<br/>mendations on prevention shortly after the incident. Patients and nurses differ in<br/>the PS of aggression. Recommendations on prevention of patients and nurses are<br/>complementary.<br/><br/>Impact: What problem did the study address? Perspectives of patients and nurses<br/>differ with respect to aggression, but how is unclear. What were the main findings?<br/>Patients and nurses generally described a similar factual course of events concern‐<br/>ing the incident, patients often perceive the severity less than nurses. Patients are<br/>capable to give recommendations on prevention of aggressive incidents, shortly after the incident. Where and on whom will the research have impact? Factual course of events can be a common ground to start evaluating aggressive incidents and post‐incident review should address the severity of incidents. Asking recommendations