Physical assault, physical threat, and verbal abuse perpetrated against hospital workers by patients or visitors in six U.S. hospitals

Details

• Personal Author:
  Dement, John M. ; Lipscomb HJ ; Pompeii LA ; Schoenfisch AL ; Smith CD ; Upadhyaya M
• Description:
  Background: An elevated risk of patient/visitor perpetrated violence (type II) against hospital nurses and physicians have been reported, while little is known about type II violence among other hospital workers, and circumstances surrounding these events. Methods: Hospital workers (n=11,000) in different geographic areas were invited to participate in an anonymous survey. Results: Twelve-month prevalence of type II violence was 39%; 2,098 of 5,385 workers experienced 1,180 physical assaults, 2,260 physical threats, and 5,576 incidents of verbal abuse. Direct care providers were at significant risk, as well as some workers that do not provide direct care. Perpetrator circumstances attributed to violent events included altered mental status, behavioral issues, pain/medication withdrawal, dissatisfaction with care. Fear for safety was common among worker victims (38%). Only 19% of events were reported into official reporting systems. Conclusions: This pervasive occupational safety issue is of great concern and likely extends to patients for whom these workers care for. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Biopharmaceutics Delivery Of Health Care Health Care Facilities Workforce And Services Health Personnel Mental Disorders Mental Health Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Workplace Violence Drugs Health-care Health-care-personnel Health-services Hospital Workers Humans Injuries Injury-prevention Medical-care Medical-personnel Medical-services Mental-disorders Mental-health Mental-processes Pharmaceuticals Statistical-analysis Surveillance-programs Type II Violence Worker-health

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• ISSN:
  0271-3586
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 6 ; Texas
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  58
• Issue:
  11
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20046334
• Citation:
  Am J Ind Med 2015 Nov; 58(11):1194-1204
• Contact Point Address:
  Lisa A. Pompeii, PhD, Division of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Medical Center, Houston, TX 77030
• Email:
  lisa.pompeii@uth.tmc.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2016
• Performing Organization:
  University of Texas, Health Science Center - Houston
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Start Date:
  20100701
• Source Full Name:
  American Journal of Industrial Medicine
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:984dfec66273b60e16e348749629fcc716d69d009c4731d9c3be52dc77830d26f07c1fa64f494d53345ffb8e80d0c8022ee7dbaa1ad76a726285903c8be6daed
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/201430/cdc_201430_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 261.80 KB ]