PERCEPTIONS OF NURSES CARIN G OF PATIENTS HAVIN G ALCO HOL PSYC HOSIS

Abstract

Today, sufficient consideration is given to the topic of patients with dependency diseases, psychological and physical violence against nursing personnel. State of nurses is underestimated. Scientific research would enable us to develop new means that could help to reduce the volume of the problem as the ignorance of violence causes a number of undesirable outcomes – illnesses and lack of nursing personnel, insufficient accessibility of nursing services and deterioration of quality of nursing. Aim of work is to analyze the perceptions of nurses while caring for patients with alcohol psychosis. A survey was conducted during a research carried out in Klaipeda region hospitals which have nurses working with patients suffering from alcohol psychosis. A questionnaire prepared by the authors of the work was used to evaluate the state of nursing personnel. The questions in the survey included demographical questions, nurses’ reaction to emotional and physical forms of violence, previously indistinctive matters that show in nurses’ lives after suffering emotional and physical violence, questions showing how consequences of violence affect the lives of nurses and effectiveness of their work, how long is the process of recovery after the stress and etc. 95 nurses working with patients aged from 20 to 61 who suffer from alcohol psychosis participated in the research. Most often nurses got remarks (72 per cent), 52 per cent felt isolation, 41 per cent - insults, 51 per cent – prohibitions, 48 per cent – threats, 49 per cent – humiliation, 43 per cent – bullying (fig. 6), 49 per cent – intimidation, 54 per cent – jeering, 67 per cent experience harassment more often with 39 per cent of them experience verbal sexual harassment. Research results revealed that nurses’ reaction to emotional violence mostly results in bad mood, fear, anger and mood changes. In cases of intimidation nurses mostly experience fear (31 per cent), in cases of humiliation they experience bad mood (29 per cent) and anger (20 per cent). The working environment of nurses is not safe because of emotional stress they experience. Nurses got remarks (72 per cent), 52 per cent felt isolation, 41 per cent felt insulted, 51 per cent – prohibitions, 48 per cent – threats, 49 per cent – humiliation, 43 per cent – bullying (fig. 6), 49 per cent – intimidation, 54 per cent – jeering, 67 per cent experience harassment more often with 39 per cent of them experience verbal sexual harassment. Emotional and physical violence affect state of nurses, and their reaction to emotional violence usually results in bad mood, fear, anger and changing mood. In cases of intimidation nurses mostly experience fear (31 per cent), in cases of humiliation they experience bad mood (29 per cent) and anger (20 per cent). Forms of relaxation which help nurses to relax after stress suffered when nursing patients with alcohol psychosis is relaxation at home (57 per cent), in the nature (82 per cent) and socializing with family members (49 per cent). Nurses experience the best feelings at home and in the nature.