Managing and preventing acts of violence against health workers: results of a review evaluating hospital control procedures

Abstract

Purpose Violence against health-care workers represents a public health issue that affects individuals, organizations and may have legal consequences. In Italy, workplace violence (WPV) constitutes a “sentinel event”, defined as a particularly serious, potentially avoidable adverse event, which may result in death or serious harm to health-care workers, and which leads to a loss of public confidence in the health-care system. In 2007, the Italian Ministry of Health issued Recommendation No. 8, “Preventing acts of violence against health workers”, inviting each Italian Hospital to develop procedures and guidelines for dealing with and preventing acts of aggression. This study aimed at investigating the appropriateness of the procedures and guidelines developed by the Italian hospitals. Design/methodology/approach Procedures on preventing violence against health-care workers published by 29 Italian Hospitals between 2007 and 2020 were collected retrospectively via Web searches and further evaluated according to their compliance with the 2007 Italian ministerial recommendations. Findings A total of 9 documents out of 29 were fully compliant with the 2007 Ministerial Recommendation, 18 were partially compliant, while 2 were totally non-compliant. A total of 24 documents explicitly addressed the management of verbal and physical aggression, whereas 20 set appropriate training on de-escalation techniques for nurses and medical staff. Psychological support was fully considered in 11 procedures, partially considered in 14, while not included at all in 4. Originality/value Public procedures on preventing violence against health-care workers in Italian hospitals are scarcely compliant with the Ministerial Recommendations. The absence of specific instructions to address the needs at territorial level and the lack of support provided to health-care workers is a weak point in the effective management of WPV.

Mental Healthcare workers’ experiences in managing psychiatric patients’ aggression in Maseru

“…Additionally, the study by Sim, Ahn and Hwang (2020) pointed out that to safeguard nurses from external and interpersonal concerns while upholding an ethical attitude and paying attention to patients' legal rights, laws surrounding general clinical safety must be strengthened. Moreover, the study by Ferracuti et al (2022) revealed that a lack of violence at any level, staff training with clear objectives, a thorough and complete investigation of workplace violence occurrences and improved communication between health professionals, patients and their families are all necessary for the safety of health workers.…”

Consistency of Violence: Implications for Effective Inpatient Psychiatric Care

“…In addition to causing human distress, the occurrence of violence and aggression also incurs financial costs. Arguably, current policy does not recognise the prevalence of violence and aggression within acute settings, resulting in guidelines that do not sufficiently elaborate working practices in relation to service users who enact violence and aggression (Ferracuti et al, 2022;Watt et al, 2018). In psychiatric wards in England, the estimated direct annual costs of assaults, verbal abuse and damage to objects is £20.5 million per year (2013( /2014( prices, NICE, 2015.…”

Violence in the daily work of healthcare professionals in an emergency care unit

“…In Italy, workplace violence against healthcare professionals constitutes a "sentinel event", defined as a serious and potentially preventable adverse event, which can result in harm to professionals and lead to a loss of public confidence in the healthcare system. It represents a public health issue, which affects individuals and organizations (6) .…”