Table 2 Frequency distribution and examples of the focus groups contributions included in the Strategies subcategory (Level 4)
Strategy | n | Examples |
|---|---|---|
Building therapeutic trust/alliance | 73 | “Often patients are aggressive because they are scared. In order to face these reactions and to gain patients’ trust and alliance, it is important that all HPs are self-confident and convey reassurance…” |
Relying on the experience/knowledge of patients | 58 | “When patients know their pharmacological therapy, they may be able to recognize and report eventual administration errors.” |
Providing information/educate | 58 | “We organize patient group meetings in which we discuss about the effects of the drugs and the potential side effects in terms of pros and cons. The aim is to favour the autonomy, these groups work, patients have shown more self-awareness.” |
Promoting collaboration with family | 35 | “Team working does not refer only to the collaboration between HPs and patients. It deserves also family involvement because it is important for patients to feel supported by their relatives and, on the other hand, family member can provide important information to clinicians.” |
Individualized healthcare plan | 34 | “It’s important to listen to patients without prejudice. Sometimes you might have a project for that patient, which then turns out to be far away from his expectations. During rehabilitation you can’t follow your own direction without taking into account what patients want, can do and would like to do. Otherwise, the risk of failure is very high” |
Relying on the experience/knowledge of HPs | 33 | “Human factor in dealing with patients’ aggressive behaviours is crucial, since it is difficult to have a rule that can be applied to all patients. HPs decide to react to patients’ aggression on the basis of the knowledge that they have about that specific person.” |
Team-building | 25 | “It is important that the team has a common goal, since it is not the single person that can make a difference…” |
Appropriate setting and environment | 18 | “It is important that patients can be welcomed in a comfortable environment, maybe with a garden where they can smoke…” |
Motivating the patient | 17 | “Helping patients to understand the importance of respecting the rules may lead to better results instead of simply imposing prohibitions” |
Collecting information | 17 | “…in order to involve patients in risk management, it would be a good idea to directly ask them what they expect. Collecting their advices and requests may let us understand needs that we may not expect” |
Handling patients’ emotions | 12 | “The risk of aggressions is reduced by encouraging patients to express their emotions. For example, if they are feeling some aggressive drive against other people and they are free to express and discuss it, then this is a first step for reducing internal tension.” |
Training HPs | 8 | “Professionals who want to work in psychiatry have to be well trained. It’s inappropriate to select them randomly from internal rankings. If you want to reduce risk in psychiatry, the first step is healthcare providers’ training.” |
Promoting collaboration with other services of the healthcare network | 5 | “Before an involuntary treatment, it’s important to inform the police that will be present in order to share information on the patient and on the reasons underlying this intervention” |
Handling HPs’ emotions | 5 | “…to recognize and prevent burnout, help HPs to better cope with their feelings, eliminate the elements that might have brought the HP to the physical and mental exhaustion, like excessive workload…” |
Other | 3 | “I think that another area in which patients might be involved regarding their safety is the personal hygiene...most of our patients are reluctant to take a shower, but in that moment, you might teach them how to get out from the shower box without falling…” |
Total | 401 |