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Over the last 10 years, the rate of people presenting with challenging behaviour to emergency departments (EDs) has increased and is recognised as a frequent occurrence facing clinicians today. Challenging behaviour often includes verbal aggression, physical aggression, intimidation and destruction of property.

The aim of this research was to (i) identify the characteristics and patterns of ED-reported incidents of challenging behaviour and (ii) explore emergency nurses’ perceptions of caring for patients displaying challenging behaviour.

This was a multi-method study conducted across two metropolitan Sydney district hospitals. Phase 1 involved a 12-month review of the hospital's incident management database. Phase 2 involved a survey of emergency nurses’ perceptions of caring for patients displaying challenging behaviour.

Over 12 months there were 34 incidents of aggression …