Increasing Understanding and Perceived Confidence of Nurses Working in an Emergency Department in Assessing Patients at Risk of Violent Behavior.

PURPOSE

The aims of this quality improvement project were to improve understanding and perceived confidence in using a tool that assesses patients at risk of violence.

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

The Brøset Violence Checklist is valid at assessing patients at risk of violence. Participants were given access to an e-learning module that demonstrated how to use the tool. Improvement in understanding and perceived confidence in using the tool were assessed preintervention and postintervention via an investigator-developed survey. Analysis of the data was conducted using descriptive statistics, and open-ended survey responses were analyzed using content analysis.

OUTCOME

Participants did not demonstrate an increase in understanding and perceived confidence after introduction of the e-learning module. Nurses reported that the Brøset Violence Checklist was easy to use, clear, reliable, and accurate and could be used to standardize assessments of at-risk patients.

CONCLUSION

Emergency department nursing staff were educated in use of a risk assessment tool for identifying patients at risk of violence. This supported the implementation and integration of the tool into emergency department workflow.