Staff victims of elder patient abuse and the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP): preliminary empirical inquiry

Patient assaults on healthcare staff are a serious and ongoing issue in long-term care facilities. Emerging studies have begun to empirically document assaults by elders in skilled nursing facilities as well as the negative impact of these events on healthcare staff victims. This study examined assaults by elders and their impact on staff over a six-year period within the context of the Assaulted Staff Action Program (ASAP), a crisis intervention program for staff victims to address the psychological aftermath of patient assaults. Findings confirmed both elder assaultive behavior and its negative impacts on staff victims. The efficacy of ASAP in ameliorating these negative impacts was presented. The implications of the findings for long-term care settings were discussed.