Staff experience of harassment and stalking behaviour by patients

Clarke, Martin; Yanson, Ian; Saleem, Younis; Edworthy, Rachel; Khalifa, Najat

Abstract

Staff from one National Health Service (NHS) Trust in England completed an online survey (N = 590) about their experience of intrusive behaviours from patients. These experiences were categorised into either stalking or harassment and compared in terms of staff and patient characteristics, types of intrusions, and aftermath. Overall, 150 were classified as being stalked (25.4%) and 172 harassed (29.2%). There were no differences in staff characteristics between the two groups. Staff from forensic services and nursing staff were particularly susceptible to these intrusions which took many forms. Respondents perceived a range of causes for the stalking and harassment, the most common being to gain power and control/to scare. It was rare for legal sanctions to be brought against the patient. Our findings reinforce the need for service providers to have policies supported with preventative measures, education and a robust process for addressing stalking so that these measures are embedded in practice in a way that supports staff working with patients. Furthermore, service providers should be challenged on what steps they have taken to prevent, and monitor, such behaviour.

Citation

Clarke, M., Yanson, I., Saleem, Y., Edworthy, R., & Khalifa, N. (in press). Staff experience of harassment and stalking behaviour by patients. International Journal of Forensic Mental Health, 15(3), https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2016.1166465

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Mar 13, 2016
• Online Publication Date: Apr 26, 2016
• Deposit Date: Apr 5, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 26, 2016
• Journal: International Journal of Forensic Mental Health
• Print ISSN: 1499-9013
• Electronic ISSN: 1932-9903
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 15
• Issue: 3
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14999013.2016.1166465
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/783676
• Publisher URL: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14999013.2016.1166465
• Additional Information: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in International Journal of Forensic Mental Health on 2016 (online 26 April 2016), available online: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14999013.2016.1166465