Doctor of Nursing Practice Degree Program in Population Health Leadership DNP, Xavier University, 2024, Nursing

Objective: Acts of aggression and violent behaviors are common in acute health care settings. Violence risk assessment tools are used in healthcare settings to screen patients for the risk of violent behaviors. This project focuses on the use of the V-RISK-10 violence screening assessment tool in an inpatient mental health care facility in the United States. The purpose of this project was to improve consistent use of the V-RISK-10 tool and improve communication of the V-RISK-10 results to the staff providing direct care. Methods: A literature review of violence screening tools was completed. The specific aims of the project were to monitor the V-RISK-10 completion rate in the electronic health record (EHR), provide education on the V-RISK-10 tool, evaluate effectiveness of staff education on the tool, improve communication of the tool by adding a column to the whiteboard in the report room which identifies the violence risk level, monitor completion rates of documentation of the violence risk level on the whiteboard, and monitor rate of code violets occurring over time. Results: Ninety-six of ninety-eight staff completed the e-Learning module and scored the minimum of 80% to pass the test. Total compliance of writing the V-RISK-10 result on the whiteboard was 85% or higher. Thirteen patients had a code violet called during the project period. Six patients had more than one code violet. Five of the six patients (83%) were assigned a V-RISK-10 assessment of moderate or high risk for violence. Conclusions: The V-RISK-10 assessment did correlate for the most part for the patients with one or more code violet incidents. The V-RISK-10 screening tool is helpful in identifying patients at risk for violence while in the inpatient mental health setting.

Committee: Miranda Knapp PhD, DNP, APRN, AGCNS-BC, CNE, EBP-C (Other); Diane M. Stauffer DNP, RN, CNE (Other); Chelsea Horn MSN, RN (Other) Subjects: Mental Health; Nursing; Psychology

Psy. D., Antioch University, 2014, Antioch New England: Clinical Psychology

Correctional institutions are currently housing a large number of mentally ill inmates. It is estimated that more than half meet the criteria for a mental disorder. While the inmate population continues to exhibit greater incidence of mental illness, there has been little effort to provide correctional officers with mental health training. This is problematic because officers are required to interact with and manage the inmate population effectively, including the mentally ill, and are faced with the stressors of inmate behaviors that are directly related to mental illness (e.g., psychosis or mania). The present study was on correctional officers’ self-reported mental health knowledge and work-related self-efficacy. Study sample consisted of correctional officers employed by a local county jail. Correctional officers (N=40) completed the Multiple-Choice Knowledge of Mental Illness Test (MC-KOMIT) and then read five short scenarios of inmate problematic behavior and rated their self-efficacy in each situation. Correctional officers were found to have low levels of mental illness knowledge, but a generally high degree of self-efficacy when working with mentally ill inmates. Officers who had higher education reported greater mental illness literacy than those with less education. No relationship between the degree of knowledge about mental illness and self-efficacy was detected. Self-efficacy was influenced by age, with older correctional officers reporting less self-efficacy than younger ones. These results are discussed.

Committee: Gargi Roysircar-Sodowsky Ph.D. (Committee Chair); Vic Pantesco Ed.D. (Committee Member); Barbara Belcher-Timme Psy.D. (Committee Member) Subjects: Clinical Psychology