Time of psychiatric patient assaults: fifteen-year analysis of the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP).

Abstract

An emerging literature on human-perpetrated violence suggests that seemingly apparent random acts of violence may indeed have important embedded temporal patterns. This study reviews this literature and presents the temporal findings of a fifteen-year study of patient assaults on staff in health care settings. Temporal patterns were observed for the variables of season, days of month, and shift. The reasons for these findings and their implications for health care providers are presented. A brief review of patient assaults on emergency services personnel (EMS) is outlined and this study 's findings and their implications for EMS personnel are discussed.