Mental Healthcare workers' experiences in managing psychiatric patients' aggression in Maseru

Background

Aggression and violence in psychiatric clinical facilities are a common case, and mental healthcare workers utilise various management strategies to combat it. It is therefore crucial for mental healthcare workers to acquire skills for the management strategies of aggressive behaviour of psychiatric patients.

Aim

The aim of the study was to describe mental healthcare workers' experiences in the management strategies of aggressive and violent behaviour by psychiatric patients in Maseru district.

Setting

A psychiatric hospital situated to the south in Maseru in the rural countryside and general hospital located in the western lowlands of Lesotho in the village of Morija were used.

Methods

This study adopted a qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design. There were two focus group interviews conducted per clinical facility, which consisted of six members in each group. There were four participants for individual interviews from psychiatric clinical facility and three individual interviews from general clinical facility.

Results

Thematic analysis of the data resulted in themes and sub-themes. These were psychological intervention strategy, physical strategy, chemical strategy, empowerment strategy and policy strategy. Participants viewed various management strategies of aggressive and violent behaviour of psychiatric patients they utilise in clinical facilities as effective.

Conclusion

The mental healthcare workers' experiences in managing aggression and violent behaviour of psychiatric patients were expression of psychological, physical, chemical, empowerment and policy strategies.

Contribution

The study will enhance the knowledge, skills and attitudes regarding management strategies that mental healthcare workers can utilise in managing aggressive and violent behaviour of psychiatric patients.

Do Homicide Perpetrators Have Higher Rates of Delayed-Suicide Than the Other Offenders? Data from a Sample of the Inmate Population in Italy

Homicide-suicide can be defined as homicide followed by the suicide of the perpetrator shortly afterward. In the so-called "homicide-delayed suicide", homicide and suicide occur but within a wide and not strictly defined timeframe. This study analyzes data concerning the suicide of 667 inmates in Italy between 2002 and 2015, considering homicide perpetrators compared to all offenders. The analyses revealed that inmates who had committed homicide were more likely to commit suicide (71% versus 45%; χ2 = 10.952, p = 0.001) and the odds of suicide increase concerning 1.58 times among homicide perpetrators. The time-to-suicide interval after homicide ranges between 0 to 9.125 days (mean = 1.687,9; SD = 2.303,1). Moreover, the intimate-homicide offenders who committed suicide had a significantly shorter survival time after the offense than did the other non-intimate offenders who died by suicide (t test, t = -3.56, df = 90, p = 0.001). The link between homicide and higher suicide risk in homicide perpetrators should be highlighted because of all the homicide offenders passing through the criminal justice system. Superior knowledge about the path of homicide-delayed suicide will be of particular use to professionals in evaluating and treating homicide inmates.