ABSTRACT
Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 154 De›nition of Health Workplace Violence ...................................................................................... 154 Effects of Workplace Violence ....................................................................................................... 154 Understanding the Risks ................................................................................................................ 155
Hospital Risks ........................................................................................................................... 156 Contributing Risk Factors ......................................................................................................... 158
Haddon Matrix for Injury Prevention ............................................................................................ 158 Establishing a Violence Prevention Committee for Guidelines ..................................................... 160
Eliminate At-Risk Behaviors ..................................................................................................... 160 Establish a Prevention Policy .................................................................................................... 160 No Weapons Policy ................................................................................................................... 161 De›ne Entities at Risk ............................................................................................................... 161 Facility Assessments ................................................................................................................. 161 Organizational Assessments ...................................................................................................... 161 Individual Threat Assessment ................................................................................................... 162 Enhance Physical Security ........................................................................................................ 162 Synchronize Personnel, Security, and Safety Policies .............................................................. 162 Develop Crisis Response Procedures ........................................................................................ 162 Emergency Police Protocol ....................................................................................................... 163 Enhance Hiring Procedures ....................................................................................................... 163 Promote an Employee Assistance Program ............................................................................... 163 Train Managers, Supervisors, Doctors, Nurses, and Employees .............................................. 163 Involve Employees in Prevention Efforts .................................................................................. 164
Assessment ..................................................................................................................................... 164 Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................... 165 OSHA Publications ........................................................................................................................ 173 Acknowledgments .......................................................................................................................... 173 Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 173 Further Reading ............................................................................................................................. 174
Violence is a serious problem in many countries, and research by the World Health Organization indicates that violence in the health care workplace is actually a global phenomenon. Crossing borders, cultures, work settings, and occupational groups, violence in the health care workplace is at a very high level. New research shows that more than half of the health sector personnel surveyed had experienced at least one incident of physical or psychological violence in the year previous to the study.
