Rates Of Workplace Violence Research Articles

Workplace Violence among Nurses in Public Hospitals in Vietnam: A Cross-sectional Study

Workplace violence causes negative impacts on the health of nurses, and the prevalence of workplace violence against nurses is rising globally. Studies to date in Vietnam have only concentrated on describing the frequency of types of violence within a specific healthcare facility with small sample sizes. This study aimed to determine the prevalence, impact and responses to workplace violence among registered nurses in public hospitals in Vietnam. This was the first nationwide study that has been carried out. A cross-sectional study design using an online questionnaire was conducted to achieve the study objectives with 2543 nurses working in 163 public hospitals. The frequency distribution and percentages were employed to describe the prevalence of workplace violence and nurses’ responses. The researchers also used the average value of the total score of each question to rank the impacts of workplace violence on nurses. The rate of workplace violence was 30.8%, of which physical and psychological violence were 5.3% and 29.7%, respectively. Among the types of psychological workplace violence, verbal abuse was the most common. The primary violent offenders were patients and caregivers. The biggest impact of workplace violence on nurses included always feeling stressed at work, decreased job satisfaction, and signs of stress or depression. The most common methods of responding to workplace violence were telling the perpetrator to stop or trying to defend themselves. These findings provide information for hospital leaders, health administrators and the Ministry of Health to reduce workplace violence against nurses. This can be done by increasing training on workplace violence management for nurses, creating a safe working environment to decrease the potential risks, and developing an appropriate system for reporting and responding to workplace violence incidents.

Associations Between Workplace Violence and Mental Health Among Chinese Health Technicians: A Moderated Mediation Analysis of Sleep Quality and Physical Activity.

Workplace violence (WPV) had always been the focus of attention in all walks of lives, especially in the health fields. Previous studies had shown it adversely affected mental health for healthcare workers. In addition, both sleep quality and physical activity were supported to have impact on mental health. However, the mechanism of sleep quality and physical activity influence the association between WPV and mental health had not been explored, so the purpose of this paper was to explore this mechanistic link among workplace violence, sleep quality, physical activity, and mental health in Chinese health technicians. Cross-sectional study was conducted in 3 cities of China, totally 3426 valid questionnaires were collected. WPV, physical activity, and social-demographic variables were evaluated. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale were used to measure sleep quality and mental health. Descriptive analysis, univariate analysis, Pearson correlation, and moderated mediation analysis were used to estimate prevalence of WPV, association between WPV and mental health, and the role of sleep quality and physical activity on association between WPV and mental health. The prevalence of WPV was 52.2% among Chinese health technicians. After controlling social-demographic and work-related variables, sleep quality partially mediated the effect of WPV on mental health (indirect effect=0.829). Physical activity moderated the relationship between WPV and sleep quality (β=0.235, p=0.013), but not find the moderating role between WPV and mental health (β=0.140, p=0.474), and between sleep quality and mental health (β=0.018, p=0.550). The rate of WPV among health technicians remained at an alarming level. Sleep quality and physical activity could mitigate the adverse effect of WPV on mental health. In the future, we could improve sleep quality and encourage health technicians to engage physical activity to decrease the negative effect of WPV on mental health.

Reducing Violence in Riyadh's Emergency Departments: The Critical Role of Healthcare Providers.

Emergency department staff are at high risk of experiencing violence and aggression from patients and visitors, which can have negative impacts on healthcare providers in the ED. The aim of this study was to explore the role of healthcare providers in addressing local violence in Riyadh EDs and investigate their preparedness for managing violent incidents. We used a descriptive, correlational design with survey methodology to collect data from a convenience sample of nurses, ED technicians, physicians, and advanced practice providers in Riyadh city's EDs. To examine the associations, we used an analysis of variance (ANOVA) for unadjusted relationships and an analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for adjusted associations. Measures included a demographic survey, and clinicians responded to an online survey. A total of 206 ED staff participated in the questionnaire, and 59% reported experiencing physical violence during an ED shift, with 61% of incidents being caused by relatives. Additionally, 32% of the participants witnessed workplace violence. Our findings revealed that male healthcare workers, physicians, and those working in the governmental sector were at the highest risk of experiencing violence. We also found a statistically significant association between the rate of patients seen in the ED and the frequency of assault (physical or verbal) in the ED. Our results suggest that the rate of workplace violence in Riyadh EDs is high, and more efforts are needed to protect the health and well-being of healthcare providers. Senior management should take a position against ED domestic violence and reinforce managerial and healthcare provider resources by adopting policies and procedures that protect healthcare workers' safety. This study provides valuable insights into the nature and prevalence of violence in Riyadh EDs and highlights the critical role of healthcare providers in reducing violence in EDs.

Dilemmas and Repercussions of Workplace Violence against Emergency Nurses: A Qualitative Study.

Nurses received the highest rate of workplace violence due to their close interaction with clients and the nature of their work. There have been relatively few qualitative studies focus on nurses’ perceptions of and experiences with the antecedents, dilemma and repercussions of the patient and visitor violence (PVV), leaving a considerable evidence gap. The aim of this study was to explore nurses’ experience of PVV in emergency department, the impact of PVV on quality of care, and supports needed after exposure to such incidents. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive and snowball sample of nurses, and analyzed the content of the interview transcripts. A total of 10 nurses were approached and agreed to participate. Those participants ranged in age from 24 to 41 years old, eight female and two male nurses, and the majority of them (80%) held a university Bachelor degree in nursing. The average time in nursing practice was 7.2 years. We conceptualized five analytical themes, which comprised: (1) multifaceted triggers and causes of PVV; (2) experiences following PVV; (3) tangled up in thoughts and struggle with the professional role; (4) self-reflexivity and adjustment; and, (5) needs of organizational efforts and support following PVV. This paper provides compelling reasons to look beyond solely evaluating the existence of workplace, and considering the perceived professional inefficacy, impacts of being threatened or assaulted in nurses. There are also urgent needs in provision of prevention and management of workplace training programs to ensure the high-quality nursing care.

Acute Workplace Hazards in Orthopedic Surgery: Resident Survey Regarding Splash and Workplace Violence Events

Orthopedic surgery residents are at risk for daily work-related hazards and exposures. Hazards related specific to this specialty includes radiation exposure, smoke inhalation (from electrocautery), and disease transmission through contact with surgical instruments or sharps during procedures. However, minimal research has been focused on other occupational hazard risks in orthopedic surgery including surgical splash events and workplace violence. This study focused on determining (1) whether or not use of protective eyewear in the workplace would be related to the availability of personal protective equipment (PPE); (2) resident education; and (3) the rate of workplace violence toward orthopedic surgery residents during their training. An invitation to participate in a web-based, anonymous survey to 46 US allopathic orthopedic surgery residency programs (1207 potential resident respondents). The survey was conceptually divided into the following areas: (1) demographics; (2) training and attitudes concerning occupational hazards; (3) PPE provision and use; (4) sharps injuries and reporting; and (5) general safety knowledge and violence in the workplace. Those who answered yes to having a splatter event or receiving a threat at the hospital were compared to those who did not. Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between these outcomes and selected independent variables of interest. p-Values of <0.05 were considered statistically significant. From January 18 to March 31, 2016, 518 surveys were received and included for analysis for a response rate of 42.9% (518/1207). One survey was excluded from analysis due to <50% completed response items. Self-reported program types were 64.5% (334/518) public university-affiliated, 23.2% (120/518) private university affiliated, 7.1% (37/518) community, and 5.2% (27/518) military. Residents were 83.0% = male and 17.0% = female. Overall, reported eye protection usage was 95% amongst all residents and 22% of residents reported experiencing a violent threat in the workplace. The risk of experiencing a splatter event was not statistically associated with residency type, gender, or geographic region. Senior residents were at an increased likelihood of experiencing a splatter event (OR 1.22, [95% CI 1.06-1.41], p = 0.006) when compared to PGY-1 residents. The risk of a violent experience at work was not statistically associated with residency type, year of residency training, or gender. Residents in the Northeast were more likely to have a violent experience (OR 2.78 [95% CI 1.41-5.49] p = 0.003). Overall, residents felt that they had adequate training to prevent occupational hazards (mean of 3.9/5 on Likert scale) and respond to hazards (mean of 3.7/5 Likert). Occupational hazards are not uncommon in orthopedic surgery training with high rates of improper eyewear PPE use and poor awareness of Occupational Safety and Health Administration and AAOS guidelines. Violence in the workplace impacts over one in 4 residents and training programs and hospitals should improve education and report efforts. Continual yearly PPE training and awareness of AAOS guidelines could be intertwined with duty hour and/or case logs in order to ensure residents are exposed to this material on a regular basis.

Contagion of violence and self-harm behaviors on a psychiatric ward

ABSTRACTMental health care personnel have one of the highest rates of workplace violence of any occupational class in the United States, with psychiatric aides having a rate that is 69 times higher than the national mean; furthermore, aggression on the part of psychiatric patients that targets other patients is a substantial component of morbidity and even mortality rates in inpatient psychiatric institutions. Much research has focused on such topics as the demographic characteristics of staff most likely to be victimized and the identification of patients most likely to become aggressive, but very little attention has been devoted to the temporal architecture of aggressive behavior. This study examined the temporal patterning of violent and aggressive behavior on an inpatient psychiatric ward over a one-year period. A statistical analysis of these data indicated that events occurred in a nonrandom fashion, with evidence to support the contention that periodic ‘bursts’ of aggression occurred in a manner that could be labeled a ‘contagion’ effect. Additional analyses indicated that (1) certain types of aggressive behaviors were more likely to kindle or trigger contagion events, and; (2) certain patients were more likely to kindle others to behave violently.

Increasing workplace violence in an Australian adult emergency department.

Workplace violence (WPV) is an increasingly concerning occupational hazard within the ED. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the incidence and characteristics of WPV in an adult ED. A retrospective cohort study was conducted to identify the incidence of ED WPV in an adult metropolitan ED. Data were obtained from the activity records of security staff from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2015 for all incidents of patient-perpetrated violence. Data on patients identified from these records as requiring security staff intervention for violence in the ED were collected through an explicit chart review. Data on patient illicit drug or alcohol exposure and acute psychiatric diagnoses were also collected. There were 1853 episodes of patient-perpetrated WPV identified over the study period. The incidence of WPV over the 3 years was 103 (95% CI: 98-108) per 10 000 of the presenting population, with a significant increase from 2013 to 2015 (IRR 1.07; 95% CI: 1.04-1.10; P < 0.01). Drug and/or alcohol exposure was observed in 1145 (61.8%) patients. Among the drug- and/or alcohol-affected violent population, three quarters (840/1145 = 73.4%) did not have a concurrent psychiatric diagnosis that required assessment during the violent presentation. The rate of WPV was increasing within this Australian ED during the study period. The majority of violent patients were affected by drugs and/or alcohol in the absence of a psychiatric diagnosis. Interventions to reduce access to and misuse of alcohol and illicit drugs could have a substantial impact on the concerning increase of violence in the ED.

Workplace violence among female sex workers who use drugs in Vancouver, Canada: does client-targeted policing increase safety?

Workplace violence, by clients or predators, poses serious negative health consequences for sex workers. In 2013, the Vancouver (British Columbia), Canada Police Department changed their guidelines with the goal of increasing safety for sex workers by focusing law enforcement on clients and third parties, but not sex workers. We sought to examine the trends and correlates of workplace violence among female sex workers (FSW) before and after the guideline change, using data collected from prospective cohorts of persons who use illicit drugs in Vancouver, Canada. Among 259 FSW, 21.0% reported workplace violence at least once during the study period between 2008 and 2014. There was no statistically significant change in rates of workplace violence after the guideline change. In our multivariable analysis, daily heroin use was independently associated with workplace violence. The 2013 policing guideline change did not appear to have resulted in decreased reports of workplace violence. Increased access to opioid agonist therapies may reduce workplace violence among drug-using FSW.

The need for detailed gender-specific occupational safety analysis

IntroductionThe female work in population is growing in the United States, therefore the occupational health and safety entities must start to analyze gender-specific data related to every industry, especially to nontraditional occupations. Women working in nontraditional jobs are often exposed to extreme workplace hazards. These women have their safety and health threatened because there are no adequate policies to mitigate gender-specific risks such as discrimination and harassment. Employers tend to aggravate this situation because they often fail to provide proper reporting infrastructure and support. According to past studies, women suffered from workplace injuries and illnesses that were less prominent among men. Statistics also confirmed that men and women faced different levels of risks in distinct work environments. For example, the rates of workplace violence and murders by personal acquaintances were significantly higher among women. MethodsIn this paper, the authors analyze prior public data on fatal and nonfatal injuries to understand why we need to differentiate genders when analyzing occupational safety and health issues. ResultsThe analyses confirmed that women dealt with unique workplace hazards compared to men. ConclusionsIt is urgent that public agencies, such as the U.S. Department of Labor, record gender-specific data in details and by occupations and industries. Practical applicationThe reader will become aware of the current lack – and need – of data and knowledge about injuries and illnesses separated by gender and industry. Finally, safety and health researchers are encouraged to investigate the gender-specific data in all industries and occupations, as soon as they become available.

The Comparative Study of Workplace Violence in Both the State-Owned Hospitals and Private Hospitals

To understand the prevalence of workplace violence of the state-owned hospitals and private hospitals and to compare the characteristics of them in Tangshan city. Cluster sampling method were used to investigate the three state-owned hospitals and five private hospitals， medical staff who suffer violence in the workplace from April 2008 to April 2009 in Tangshan city. The incidence rate of workplace violence in state-owned hospitals(62.98%) was higher than private hospitals（13.55％）. The type of the violence is mainly psychological violence both in state-owned hospitals and private hospitals. And state-owned hospitals’ incidence of psychological violence (46.48％) was higher than private hospitals（13.55％）. Both state-owned hospitals and private hospitals， the violence mainly occurred during daytime hours. Violence of state-owned hospital most occurred in wards（47.92%）， while private hospitals most occurred in medical rooms（32.35%）. The most important reasons for workplace violence in State-owned hospitals and private hospitals were the perpetrators of alcohol (42.81%) and patients without improvement or self-opinion that there is no improvement（57.35％）, respectively. Private Hospitals’ incidence of workplace violence is lower than the state-owned hospitals’ in Tangshan city， According to the characteristics of various hospitals， we should implement interventions to reduce the incidence of violence in the hospital.

Social Services Workers and Workplace Violence

ABSTRACT Researchers and workplace violence experts have cited risk factors that theoretically increase the likelihood that individuals will experience workplace violence. Those include working alone, contact with the public, traveling to dangerous areas, as well as other factors. By the very nature of what social services workers do, many encounter these risk factors on a regular basis. Using national data, trends in workplace violence experienced by social services workers are examined, and comparisons are made between the rates of workplace violence among similar workgroups. Results suggest that social services workers are nearly six times more likely than other workers to experience workplace violence. In the discussion, attention is given to strategies to prevent violence against social services workers.

Review of Handbook of workplace violence.

E. KEVIN KELLOWAY, JULIAN BARLING, and JOSEPHJ. HURRELLJR Handbook of Workplace Violence Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 2006, 704 pages (ISBN: 0-7619-3062-0, C$125 Hardcover) Reviewed by JENNIFER CONNOLLY According to the Cambridge University dictionary, a handbook contains . . the most important and useful information about a subject. This Handbook of Workplace Violence admirably fits this definition. In the book, the authors have assembled 26 chapters that summarize the very vast domain of violence research that pertains to the workplace. According to the authors of this handbook, in the last 10 to 15 years, there has been an explosion of research on workplace violence, sparked at least in part by the postal shootings of the mid-1990s. Each chapter, all written by academic researchers who are deeply involved in the field of workplace violence, summarizes a unique aspect of workplace violence. The authors of the handbook are organizational psychologists and they approach this topic from a social-organizational perspective. This handbook would, thus, be of great interest to similarly-minded psychologists. However, the scope of the handbook, covering violence in multiple settings and from multiple perspectives, would attract readers from a variety of psychological domains. As a clinical-developmental psychologist, I was especially interested in the chapters on school violence and the young worker. Readers from other disciplines, who have an interest in interpersonal violence as it occurs in public spaces, would be drawn to other chapters and would be equally intrigued. In essence, diis handbook has a broad readership and ably meets its goal of the state of current knowledge and charting the course for future research. The handbook opens with three chapters that provide a theoretical framework as well as an empirical perspective on workplace violence. A conceptualization of workplace violence as instrumental behaviour is first presented, and this is followed by a chapter summarizing the view of workplace violence as an emotional reaction to threat or frustration. These chapters provide a helpful preview of the rest of the book, as the theoretical views summarized in them are echoed in the remaining chapters. The first section concludes with a chapter summarizing what is known of the prevalence of workplace violence. To the newcomer to this field of research, this chapter is especially interesting, as it provides a broad perspective on workplace violence, identifying the range of targets and perpetrators as well as the risks for violence. Workplace violence is conceptualized as behavior by an individual within or outside an organization that is intended to physically or psychologically harm a worker or workers and occurs in a work-related context. The prevalence rates cited in this chapter shatter commonly held myths that workplace violence is infrequent and largely committed by disgruntled employees. Instead, it documents the alarmingly high incidence of workplace violence and reveals the risks that many workers are exposed to by customers, clients, or individuals intent on committing criminal activity. The data forming the basis of this chapter are derived from U.S. prevalence rates, and the extent to which such rates of workplace violence are broadly generalizable is not yet known. Nonetheless, the data provided in this chapter highlight the high incidence of violence in the workplace and raise important issues for studying violence and the prevention of violence in the workplace. The second, and most extensive, section of the handbook contains 14 chapters diat explore violence in specific organizational contexts. Collectively, these chapters cover a broad and diverse range of workplace settings, focusing on multiple types of violence, and addressing many categories of workers. Emotional abuse, bullying, and sexual harassment are each considered. As well, violence in schools and in the health care sector is extensively discussed. …

Organizational response to conflict: Future conflict and work outcomes

The purpose of this study was to examine how on organization's response to conflict affected the amount and intensity of future conflict and negative work outcomes. In this cross-sectional study of 3,374 government service workers, bivariate correlations and multiple regressions revealed associations between managers' conflict-handling style (CHS) and indicators of productivity and conflict ratings. As managers' use of the forcing CHS increased, the rote of accidents, absenteeism, and overtime increased. However, a path analysis showed that the relationship between CHSs and negative work indicators disappeared when the amount and intensity of conflict was held constant. Implications for social work are discussed. Key words: conflict; conflict intensity; conflict management; organizational conflict; workplace violence ********** Organizational conflict is costly, consuming 20 percent of a manager's time (Thomas & Schmidt, 1976), and unresolved conflict can result in antisocial behavior, covert retaliation (Spector, 1997), and violence (Luckenbill & Doyle, 1989). According to the U.S. Department of Justice's American National Crime Victimization Survey, 1.5 million employees are assaulted at work each year (Occupational Safety, and Health Administration, 1999), and the rate of workplace violence is higher among government employees than among private sector workers (Diamond & Furbacher, 1997). An organization's response to conflict affects the amount and intensity of future conflict (referred to as CR for conflict rating) and work indicators (WIs). Researchers have studied the relationships between conflict-handling styles (CHSs) and WIs; CHSs and CR; and CR with WIs. LITERATURE REVIEW The literature on organizational conflict has identified five CHSs: * Integrating involves collaboration and problem solving in which both parties share information and look for ways to satisfy each other. * Compromising entails splitting issues down the middle to resolve conflict. * Obliging style means that a person gives in to the wants of others by denying his or her own needs. * Avoiding style entails an individual suppressing or withdrawing from conflict. * Forcing style entails a person forcing issues to get his or her needs met at the expense of another (Rahim, 1992). Research has shown that the way conflict is handled affects the amount and intensity of future conflict. Of the five CHSs, the integrating style is considered the best (Follett, 1982, Van de Vliert, 1996). High-frequency integrators have significantly less conflict than low-frequency integrators (Weider-Hatfield & Hatfield, 1995). Forcing, considered the worst CHS, escalates conflict (Rahim, 1992; Thomas, 1979), increases frustration, hinders conflict resolution, and leaves residual frustration for the person whose needs were not met (Follett). This frustration likely causes future conflict (Thomas, 1979) that is more aggressive (Bergmann & Volkema, 1989) and violent (DuBrin, 1997). Weider-Hatfield and Hatfield (1995), who studied the relationship between CHSs and organizational outcomes, claimed that the integrating style was associated with better work performance. An integrating style also was found to correlate with improvements in productivity and customer service (Tjosvold, Dann, & Wong, 1992). Tjosvold and Chia (1988) reported that poorly handled conflict reduced productivity and increased labor relations problems. In a study of CHS patterns, supervisors who used the forcing style were less effective with subordinates (Van de Vliert, Euwema, & Huismans, 1995). CR has also been shown to influence WIs. Van de Vliert (1996) found that heated conflicts in organizations resulted in absenteeism, personnel turnover, and other inefficiencies. As tensions rise during a conflict, the ability to think clearly declines and reasoning becomes distorted (Thomas, 1990). …

Workplace violence in Oregon: an analysis using workers' compensation claims from 1990-1997.

One of the most serious occupational problems in the workplace is the occurrence of violent assaults. This study examined 2028 workers' compensation claims of workplace violence from Oregon between 1990 and 1997, and used Current Population Survey data for risk analysis. The rate of workplace violence was 1.86 per 10,000 employees annually (95% confidence interval, 1.78-1.94), with females and workers under 35 years of age experiencing the most violence. The average claim resulted in approximately 40 days of indemnity and $6200 in costs. Workers on evening and night shifts had significantly higher rates of being victims of violence, as did those working on weekends. Preventative interventions should be targeted at younger workers and those with less tenure. Special measures should be focused on ensuring the safety of evening/night-shift workers and weekend employees.