Workplace Violence Training Programs for Health Care Workers: An Analysis of Program Elements

Abstract

Commercial workplace violence (WPV) prevention training programs differ in their approach to violence prevention and the content they present. This study reviews 12 such programs using criteria developed from training topics in the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers and a review of the WPV literature. None of the training programs addressed all the review criteria. The most significant gap in content was the lack of attention to facility-specific risk assessment and policies. To fill this gap, health care facilities should supplement purchased training programs with specific training in organizational policies and procedures, emergency action plans, communication, facility risk assessment, and employee post-incident debriefing and monitoring. Critical to success is a dedicated program manager who understands risk assessment, facility clinical operations, and program management and evaluation.

The Development and Effectiveness of a Clinical Training Violence Prevention Program for Nursing Students

“…When experiencing violence, participants in the experimental group had better coping abilities and a better awareness of violence; they made a report of a violent event to a nurse or nurse manager, instead of neglecting or enduring it. This result is supported by the suggestion that a workplace violence prevention and management program should include a focus on communication skills [32,36,53].…”

Workplace violence injury in 106 US hospitals participating in the Occupational Health Safety Network (OHSN), 2012‐2015

“…Evidence from studies of hospital‐level workplace violence prevention interventions has been mixed . There is some evidence for the effectiveness of certain administrative measures such as “flagging” the files of patients with a history of violence against HCWs and more recent research suggests that comprehensive, data‐driven prevention programs that include educational, organizational, medical, and structural components may reduce the incidence of workplace violence . However, more empirical evidence is needed to support the efficacy of most elements of the currently proposed strategies for reducing workplace violence and to identify the most promising among them .…”

Using Simulation Training to Promote Nurses’ Effective Handling of Workplace Violence: A Quasi-Experimental Study

“…The content design of the “simulation education on workplace violence training” was based on the systematic reviews and nursing staff focus group interviews for framework development of workplace violence training [10,14,23,24,25]. The courses were designed to simulate verbal and physical violence in the real-workplace scenarios, prompting the participants to construct a problem-solving strategy during the learning process and to apply the strategy to the relevant situations.…”

“…An increasing incidence of workplace violence in the health environment has raised a great concern among workers and employers [3,4,6,7]; the incidence of violent episodes has been recognized as a major health priority by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Council of Nurses (ICN) [8] and a “zero tolerance” policy for workplace violence was then proposed [9]. Based on the experiences from prior studies, identifying the factors which lead to workplace violence, could help facilitate documenting and reporting violent episodes as well as developing effective prevention strategies to protect nursing staff from exposure to workplace violence [10,11].…”