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Completed

NCT Number: NCT02116439

Evaluation of the Manifestation of Patient Aggresivity in an Emergency Department

The main objective of this study is to determine the average total number of violent events per observation period occurring in the emergency department at the Nîmes University Hospital. The list of violent events is pre-determined and based on a series of interviews with emergency department staff.

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Key information

Conditions

Emergency Room Disease Attributes Emergencies Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

CHRU de Nîmes - Hôpital Universitaire Carémeau

Nîmes, 30029, France

About this study

This observational study will take place via a representative sample of 90 observation periods. One observation period consists of 7.5 consecutive hours between two team rotations during the day and 10 consecutive hours at night. These observational periods include the moment when health-care teams are debriefed during a shift-change, which we suspect to be a sensitive time point.

Observation periods are randomly selected over a period of 1 year, and stratified for time of day (morning, afternoon, evening), day of the week and month.

The secondary objectives of the observation phase are to identify factors associated with the average number of violent events per work period (number of patients attending the emergency department, time of staff debriefing during shift change, time of day, week or weekend, individual patient characteristics (gender, age, patient or accompanying a patient, waiting time from arrival in the emergency room to emergency consultation, reason for consultation), characteristics of victims of violence, characteristics of the health care team ...)

The anticipated total number of violent events is unknown at the beginning of the study; we indicated '50' as a guess.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Persons manifesting violence according to a pre-determined list of watched-for events will be observed
  • The victims of the above-mentioned violence will also be observed and interviewed

Exclusion criteria

  • Persons not manifesting violence according to a pre-determined list of watched-for events

Treatment and study plan

Primary outcomes

  1. The number of violent events occuring per work period

    Time frame: Baseline to end of period (maximum of 10 hours)

Secondary outcomes

  1. Date

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  2. Day of the week

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  3. Time at the beginning of the observation period

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  4. Number of male nurses present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline to end of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  5. Number of female nurses present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline to end of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  6. Number of nursing assistants present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline to end of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  7. Number of doctors present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline to end of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  8. Number of patients present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  9. Number of accompaning persons (bringing in patients) present in the department

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  10. Number of accompaning persons (bringing in patients) present in the waiting room

    Time frame: Baseline (hour 0)

  11. Number of patients present in the department

    Time frame: End of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  12. Number of accompaning persons (bringing in patients) present in the department

    Time frame: End of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  13. Number of accompaning persons (bringing in patients) present in the waiting room

    Time frame: End of observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  14. Time of day at the beginning of a staff debriefing during a shift change.

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  15. Time of day at the end of a staff debriefing during a shift change.

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

  16. Time at the beginning of a violent event

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  17. Time at the end of a violent event

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  18. Was the event correctly declared according to current procedures? yes/no

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  19. Sex (m/f)

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  20. Is the person a patient or a person accompanying a patient?

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  21. Reason why the patient is coming to the emergency department.

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  22. Time (delay) patient has been waiting before manifestation of violence.

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

  23. Age (years)

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each victim of a person manifesting violence.

  24. Sex (m/f)

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each victim of a person manifesting violence.

  25. Years of work experience

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each victim of a person manifesting violence.

  26. Professional category

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each victim of a person manifesting violence.

  27. Presence/absence of difference in what was observed and what the victim remembers

    Time frame: 72 hours after a violent event

  28. Violence severity scale

    Time frame: During an observation period (maximum 10 hours)

    To be recorded for each event for each person manifesting violence.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Nīmes

Other

Registry information

Acronym: ASAU

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2014
Study completion
2014
First posted
Apr 16, 2014
Registry last updated
Dec 16, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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