Workplace Violence against Health Care Workers in the United States

The objective of this study was to investigate emergency nurses' experiences and perceptions of violence from patients and visitors in US emergency departments (EDs). The ED is a particularly vulnerable setting for workplace violence, and because of a lack of standardized measurement and reporting mechanisms for violence in healthcare settings, data are scarce. Registered nurse members (n = 3,465) of the Emergency Nurses Association participated in this cross-sectional study by completing a 69-item survey. Approximately 25% of respondents reported experiencing physical violence more than 20 times in the past 3 years, and almost 20% reported experiencing verbal abuse more than 200 times during the same period. Respondents who experienced frequent physical violence and/or frequent verbal abuse indicated fear of retaliation and lack of support from hospital administration and ED management as barriers to reporting workplace violence. Violence against ED nurses is highly prevalent. Precipitating factors to violent incidents identified by respondents is consistent with the research literature; however, there is considerable potential to mitigate these factors. Commitment from hospital administrators, ED managers, and hospital security is necessary to facilitate improvement and ensure a safer workplace for ED nurses.

The purpose of this study was to describe the violence experienced by Emergency Department (ED) workers from patients and visitors during the 6 months before the survey. Two hundred forty-two employees at five hospitals who came in direct contact with patients or visitors completed a survey. The study found that most workers had been verbally harassed by patients or visitors at least once. There were at least 319 assaults by patients and 10 assaults by visitors. Sixty-five percent of subjects assaulted stated that they did not report the assault to hospital authorities. Sixty-four percent of subjects had not had any violence prevention training during the previous 12 months. There were significant relationships among violent experiences, feelings of safety, and job satisfaction. ED workers are at high risk for violence, and efforts are needed to decrease the incidence of violence. Such efforts are likely to have a positive impact on job satisfaction and retention of ED workers.

Background Consumer-driven homecare models support aging and disabled individuals to live independently through the services of homecare workers. Although these models have benefits, including autonomy and control over services, little evidence exists about challenges homecare workers may face when providing services, including workplace violence and the negative outcomes associated with workplace violence. This study investigates the prevalence of workplace violence among homecare workers and examines the relationship between these experiences and homecare worker stress, burnout, depression, and sleep. Methods We recruited female homecare workers in Oregon, the first US state to implement a consumer driven homecare model, to complete an on-line or telephone survey with peer interviewers. The survey asked about demographics and included measures to assess workplace violence, fear, stress, burnout, depression and sleep problems. Results Homecare workers (n = 1,214) reported past-year incidents of verbal aggression (50.3% of respondents), workplace aggression (26.9%), workplace violence (23.6%), sexual harassment (25.7%), and sexual aggression (12.8%). Exposure was associated with greater stress (p < .001), depression (p < .001), sleep problems (p < .001), and burnout (p < .001). Confidence in addressing workplace aggression buffered homecare workers against negative work and health outcomes. Conclusions To ensure homecare worker safety and positive health outcomes in the provision of services, it is critical to develop and implement preventive safety training programs with policies and procedures that support homecare workers who experience harassment and violence. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12889-014-1340-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.