Incidents related to safety in mental health facilities in Kenya

BMC Health Services Research

Research

Florence Jaguga¹  Saina Chelagat¹  Sitienei Robert Kiptoo¹  Francis Ogaro¹  WK Aruasa¹  Kamaru Edith Kwobah¹  Felicita Wangechi¹ 

[1] Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital, 3 Eldoret, 30100, Eldoret, Kenya;

关键词: Mental health facilities;    Safety;    Prevention;    Mental disorders;    Incidents;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12913-023-09074-7

 received in 2022-08-31, accepted in 2023-01-16,  发布年份 2023

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundBoth patients and health care providers working in mental health facilities witness high rates of incidents that have the potential to jeopardize their safety. Despite this, there are few studies that have documented the kind of incidents that are experienced, or explored the potential contributors to these incidents, and solutions that would result in better safety. This study explored various types of safety related incidents occurring in mental facilities in Kenya, perceived contributing factors, and recommendations for improve.MethodsThis qualitative descriptive study was carried out between December 2019 – February 2020. It included 28 mental health staff across 14 mental health unit spread across the country.ResultsAll the participants reported having personally experienced an incident that threatened their safety or that of the patients. Most of the respondents (24/26. 91.67%) admitted to have experienced verbal aggression while 54.17%, (n = 24) had experienced physical assault. Participating health care workers attributed the safety incidents to poor infrastructure, limited human resources, and inadequate medication to calm down agitated patients. Suggested solutions to improve patient safety included; improving surveillance systems, hiring more specialized healthcare workers, and provision of adequate supplies such as short-acting injectable psychotropic.ConclusionIncidents that threaten patient and staff safety are common in mental health facilities in Kenya. There is need to strengthen staff capacity and reporting mechanisms, as well as invest in infrastructural improvements, to safeguard patient and staff safety in mental health facilities in Kenya.

【 授权许可】

CC BY   
© The Author(s) 2023