Barriers and facilitators to using a violence risk assessment for patients with mental illness: Perceptions of health care personnel

The daily assessment of the risk of violence has been shown to be an effective intervention for managing violent behavior in mental health services.
Purpose: To evaluate the use of a violence risk assessment tool by health care personnel working in mental health units and its facilitators and barriers.
Method: A descriptive study using the Dillman method and informed by the Knowledge-to-Action framework was conducted.
Results: Twenty-six health care professionals responded to the questionnaire; 62% stated that they had already used the violence risk assessment tool available in their unit, but not on a daily basis. Barriers included a lack of knowledge of the tool, a lack of resources and time, as well as a negative attitude toward the patients. 42% of participants indicated the need for training on how to use the violence risk assessment.
Conclusion: Despite considerable exposure to violence, the health care professionals did not carry out a daily risk assessment. The identification of barriers and facilitators provide a direction for the necessary interventions if the daily use of violence risk assessment tools is to be increased.