Patient Violence in Community Mental Health: A Review of the Literature

Abstract

The past decade has seen an increasing focus on care in the community. During this period, the media has given a high profile to a number of incidents where members of the public and health service staff have been assaulted by patients of mental health services.

Many occupational therapists work in community mental health teams and there is a nationally acknowledged need for risk assessment and management. Despite this, an electronic search of five major databases and eight occupational therapy journals revealed no literature within the occupational therapy profession examining risk assessment and management. The existing literature is from the nursing and medical professions.

A systematic review of 10 studies, two conducted in the United Kingdom and eight in the United States of America, is presented. It is suggested that the occupational therapy profession urgently needs to address this gap in its literature and consider what can be learned from other professions.