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Aim: This paper is a report of a study to determine the transferability of the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale to European mental health inpatient settings., Background: Incidents of patient aggression and violence are common in psychiatric in-patient facilities, and nurses' attitudes may play a part in how they are managed., Methods: Nursing staff from acute psychiatric in-patient units in Switzerland and the United Kingdom completed the Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale. Data were collected in the UK in 2001 and Switzerland in 2003. The Swiss sample comprised 75 respondents: 45 female, mean age 36.24, mean experience 7.35 years, 60 Registered Nurses. The United Kingdom sample was 75 respondents: 58 female, mean age 32, mean experience 5.25 years, 48 Registered Nurses. T-tests identified differences between the groups in their responses to each Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale statement., Results: There was 66% concordance of views between the groups. Swiss nurses were, however, more likely to regard factors internal to the patient as contributory to aggression while United Kingdom nurses perceived environmental factors to be more important. Both groups endorsed physical means of aggression management, Swiss nurses more so., Conclusion: There are both commonalities and differences between the attitudes of Swiss and United Kingdom nursing staff regarding patient aggression. Differences may relate to rates of aggression, variations in management approaches, training and policy. The Management of Aggression and Violence Attitude Scale is a potentially effective tool for making comparisons about perspectives on patient aggression.

Woodlands therapy: an ethnographic analysis of a small-group therapeutic activity for people with moderate or severe dementia This paper reports on an analysis of Woodlands therapy (WT), a sensory-motor therapeutic activity that aims to encourage interaction with people with moderate or severe dementia. The aims of the study were to examine: the responses of patients to the sensory experiences and play-based activities that make up a WT session; the factors that influenced their responses; and the verbal interventions employed by the staff who facilitated WT sessions. Methods derived from ethnography were used. The data comprised videotapes of five WT sessions, notes of other sessions, and discussions with staff involved with the approach. Thematic groups of patients' responses were formulated. WT mainly appears to engender the responses of attention, participation and comment. Factors that influence patients' responses are discussed. The findings indicate that staff facilitation strategies strongly influence patients' responses to WT. Verbal interventions made by staff are grouped in terms of their relative helpfulness for promoting positive responses to WT. Suggestions for practice are made for professional carers undertaking sensory-motor therapeutic activities for people with dementia.

This paper reviews the literature pertaining to the provision of therapeutic activities for elderly people suffering from dementia. It relates both the provision of such activities, and the types of activity done, to the values and beliefs held by nurses and other professional carers. The range of therapeutic activities cited in the literature is explored, and reasons why activities are sometimes not offered to patients are discussed. Finally, research findings into the effectiveness and value of therapeutic activities for this group of people are reviewed.