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Prologue: Workplace Violence against Health Care and Social Service Workers According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), there were 69 homicides in the health services from 1996 to 2000. However, while workplace homicides generate the most attention, the vast majority of workplace violence consists of nonfatal assaults, and the preponderance of these is in health care and social services. Indeed, the BLS has reported that in 2000, 48% of all nonfatal injuries from occupational assaults and violent acts occurred in health care and social services. Most of these acts, which were inflicted by patients or clients against staff, occurred in hospitals, in nursing and personal care facilities, and in residential care services. The BLS further reports that in 2000 alone, health service workers had an incidence rate of 9.3 acts per 10,000 full-time workers for injuries resulting from assaults and violent acts. The respective rates for social service workers and for nursing and personal care facility workers were 15 and 25 per 10,000 full-time workers. This compares with an overall privatesector injury rate of 2 per 10,000 (see Figure 12.1).