Workplace violence committed by patients and visitors has high propensity to occur against emergency department employees. This article reports the association of worker, workplace, and community/environmental factors with violence risks. A cross-sectional research design was used with 280 employees from six emergency departments in the Midwest United States. Respondents completed the Survey of Violence Experienced by Staff and a 10-item demographic questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequencies, percentages, Chi-square tests, and adjusted relative risks with 95% confidence intervals. Over 80% of respondents experienced at least one type of workplace violence with their current employer and approximately 40% experienced all three types. Risks for workplace violence were significantly higher for registered nurses and hospital-based emergency departments. Workplace violence can impact all employees in the emergency department regardless of worker, workplace, and community/environmental factors.
Workplace violence (WPV) is a serious threat to the nursing workforce. WPV results in decrease morale, job dissatisfaction, and increase nurse turnover and intentions to leave the profession. WPV has been associated with decrease in the quality of care rendered and could negatively affect patient safety. Given the direct and indirect financial consequences of WPV, it is critical that nursing leaders take actions to reduce WPV by establishing violence prevention programs. Nursing leaders should also reach out to the public, their professional health organization, and the scientific community to provide education and craft regulation to reduce this threat on the nursing workforce and change the perception that violence is part of the job.
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