Threats and violence in Swedish community elderly care

Violence in elderly care has been reported on a global scale. The aim of this study was to describe nurses’ perceptions of threats and violence, directed at themselves and other staff in community elderly care. Another aim was to describe nurses’ access to prevention measures for handling threats and violence. A questionnaire was answered by registered nurses (RNs) (n = 213) in community elderly care. Data was analyzed by SPSS. The results showed that nurses had experienced high-degree indirect threats (48%), direct threats of violent acts (40%) and violent acts (40%). Forty-five percent of the nurses had witnessed violence and threats toward other staff. Twenty percent of the nurses stated to have access to education in managing threats and violence. The conclusions were that violence occurred frequently in community elderly care, as perceived by nurses, as well as that community authority should increase staff education for handling violence.