Abstract
Working in a health care setting has been identified as a primary risk factor for violent assault, which is often perpetrated by patients. Patient dangerousness is a multidimensional phenomenon, which may include violent ideation, homicidal planning, a history of violent acts, or overt threatening behavior. Although the verbal report of thoughts of killing a doctor is only one of many risk factors for patient dangerousness, reports of homicidal ideation are widely regarded as being sufficient to warrant concern, and to indicate a need for further assessment of the patient. In this study, 2264 subjects (1329 healthy community subjects, 158 non-healthy community subjects, and 777 rehabilitation patients) were asked if they had a desire to kill a doctor that they had seen. Subjects responding positively to this item were compared to subjects responding negatively to the item using all available demographic variables and BHI 2 scales using chi-square or t-test. Significant variables (p<.01) were then utilized in a logistic regression to generate a model for this wish. Three variables significantly predicted this wish: the Doctor Dissatisfaction (p<.001) and Borderline (p<.001) scales of the BHI 2, and injury-related litigation status (p = .002). The presence of one of these variables, especially Doctor Dissatisfaction, should prompt a more thorough assessment of potential danger to healthcare workers.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 87-97 |
Number of pages | 11 |
Journal | Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings |
Volume | 17 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 2010 |
Keywords
- Battery for Health Improvement 2 (BHI 2)
- Borderline
- Doctor Dissatisfaction scale
- Healthcare workers
- Homicide
- Hostile wish to kill physicians
- Litigation
- Physicians
- Predictors
- Risk factors
- Violence
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Clinical Psychology