The Occupational Safety And Health Administration

The purpose of this review was to discover and asses the effects of healthcare worker directed violence on healthcare providers as well as the effect on patient care. There is sufficient evidence to say that workplace violence perpetrated by patients has a negative effect on the healthcare worker as well as the quality of care they are

The goal of this research was to determine the impact that the implementation of a workplace violence presentation program had on violence rates in the VA health care system. Over the years, the Veterans Health Care Administration has implemented many strategies to make work environments safer, including a workplace violence prevention program. Using their previously set-up reporting system, researchers were able to determine the number of assaults in the past 6 fiscal years (2003-2009) as well as the current rates of assault in their facilities. Using an evaluation team of three members from each

This is relevant for me as it is for everyone in the healthcare industry. We all want to work in an environment that is free from violence especially in an environment that is already full of stress. It is good to know that there are governmental sanctions for those that violate harassment or violence regulations in the workplace. We still need management to be accountable with those under their direction, disciplining and counseling problem employees as necessary. Because of this threat that constantly hangs over our heads we as nurses should develop a process or plan

Pich, Hazelton, Sundin, and Kable (2010) research aimed to explore the concept of nurses in Australia being identified as the occupation at most risk of patient-related violence in the health care sector. The researchers found that patient-related violence against nurses was highest in emergency departments; 70% of nurses working there estimated to experience violence on a weekly basis and between 60-90% of nurses reported exposure to violence, both verbal and physical (Pich et al., 2010). Patients were consistently identified as the most common source of such violence, responsible for ≤89% of all cases (Pich et al., 2010). Verbal abuse, a form of psychological abuse, was reported by ≤82% of nurses across a range of clinical environments

The Bureau of Labor Statistics (2000) shows that 48% of all non-fatal work related assaults and acts of violence have occurred in health care and social service settings. Violence against mental health and health care workers has the potential to cause major physical injuries and psychological trauma. In return this poses serious consequences on employers such as increased turnover, medical and psychological care, increased absenteeism, decreased morale, job dissatisfaction, legal issues, and worker burn-out. Agencies and clinicians are encouraged to evaluate and identify the risks that are potential barriers in their agencies. Safety plans need to be implemented and strategized along with re-evaluations on a continuous basis (Taylor, H. 2013).

Workplace violence (WPV) has been an increasing problem for many years, but it is hitting the healthcare profession hardest.(1) A crime survey done in 2014 by the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) found that violent crimes in the US healthcare system increased by 25% from 2012 to 2013.(2) Nearly 24,000 assaults in the work environment occur every year, with nearly 70-75% occurring to healthcare providers alone.(3, 4) Due to this increased risk of assault while working, healthcare workers are nearly 4 times as likely to need time off of work due to an injury caused by workplace violence than any other cause (i.e. illness, family leave, etc).(3) In a 2001 document from the United States Bureau of Justice, it was reported that 1.62% of physicians were assaulted (16.2 assaults per 1,000), 2.19% of nurses were assaulted (21.9 assaults per 1,000 nurses), and 0.85% of other healthcare workers (with varying job titles) were assaulted (8.5 assaults per 1,000 employees).(5) In 2011, the United States Bureau of Justice measured the workplace violence rate for nurses to be 3.9% (3.9 assaults per 1,000), almost doubling the numbers from 2001 in just 10 years.(1) The United States Bureau of Justice also reported that of the 100 fatalities that occurred in the workplace of healthcare and social service employees in 2013, 27 of the fatalities were due to violent attacks and assaults.(4)

The Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act sets out the laws about health and safety requirements affecting workplaces, work activities and the use of plant and substances. Besides that, the OHS Act is an essential framework in the workplace to cultivate good safety habits in all individuals so as to stimulate a strong safety culture in the workplace. The Act establishes a framework for people by preventing or minimising their exposure to risk.

To better understand the epidemiology of fatal violence in the health care setting, Goodman and colleagues examined death certificates over a 10¬year period (1980–1990). During this time, 522 health care workers died of work-related injuries, 106 of which were homicides. Twenty-six of those killed were

Violence in all its forms has increased dramatically worldwide in recent decades (Balamurugan, Jose & Nandakumar, 2012). According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) report, nearly two million American workers report having been victims of workplace violence each year (2011). Among those at highest risks for violence in the healthcare setting are nurses, social workers and psychiatric evaluators (OSHA, 2011). In the healthcare setting, physical assault is almost exclusively committed by patients (Balamurugan et al., 2012). Moreover, nurses have the highest rate of violent attacks out of all healthcare workers (Howerton Child & Mentes, 2010); the main reason being that nurses are alongside the patients 24-hours a day, are usually the most available caretakers and are the frontline staff members dealing with patients and their relatives whereas psychiatrists, social workers and other healthcare providers only visit from time to time (Yarovitsky & Tabak, 2009; Rowe, 2012; ALBashtaway, 2013).

During one’s nursing career, one will experience some form of violence. Depending on what department/unit one works the chances are greatly increased. The form of violence may be nonphysical or physical, a form of intimidation or sexual harassment. Nevertheless, one may experience all of them during one shift or all over a period of time. Being exposed to this type of behavior on a regular basis has shown that nurses have increased job dissatisfaction, high turnover, or are leaving the nursing profession all together. “Exposure to violence can also generate burnout, reactive psychological syndromes, substance abuse or abuse of pys-chotropic medication” (Esteban, Mun-oz, Hernadez, & Barbero, 2017 page 34). Many institutes face high absences,

The health industry may be one of the most violent industries in America. An American National Crime Victimization Survey on violence in the workplace from 1993 to 1999

Healthcare regulatory agencies agreed that the negative impact of lateral violence at work place directly affects nursing care. There have been numerous suggestions on the guidelines on how to eradicate violence at the workplace. Unfortunately, the type of change required for widespread adoption of new approaches to eradicate lateral violence is imperative (OSHA, 2015). Even though the OSHA (2015), stipulated policy on workplace violence such as physical assaults which was termed as a workplace hazard, there are loop-holds in the policy. For instance, lateral or horizontal violence was not mentioned, rather profound

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics (BLS), from 2005-2014, there has been an increase in the rate of workplace violence in private-sector hospitals by 110% (2016). Workplace violence, which consists of physical and psychological abuse during work or on duty, has been an increasing problem in the healthcare industry. Workplace violence occurs in all types of healthcare settings such as hospitals and nursing homes and includes violence from patients, visitors, invaders, and coworkers. Although many states, including California, have laws preventing workplace violence, there is no federal law that enforces workplace violence protections. The effects and causes of workplace violence in the healthcare setting is explored, as

Workplace violence and prevention: Workplace violence as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration [OSHA] is “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site” (n.d.). In recent years workplace violence has received accumulative consideration, and has been increasingly responsible

Successful national policy implementation on healthcare associated workplace violence is achieved through broad culture change. As CMS has targeted focus on the Culture of Safety, the timing is ideal to continue to take steps to further this change. As the goals of a healthcare related workplace violence policy include: a reduction in workplace violence; a system to track and trend high-risk and/or repeat offenders; and an expansion of resources available to victims, the evaluation criteria would draw from the success of the goals. The difficulty in this culture shift is the lack of direct measurability.