The Joint Commission's new and revised workplace violence prevention standards for hospitals: a major step forward toward improved quality and safety.

Details

• Personal Author:
  Arnetz JE
• Description:
  Workplace violence poses a significant threat to the health, safety, and well-being of health care workers and has negative implications for their productivity, retention, and the quality of care they provide to patients. The problem is not new. Violence from patients toward health care workers has been recognized as an occupational hazard for decades, with the earliest studies coming from psychiatric/mental health settings. By the early 1990s, violence was becoming a recognized occupational risk in general health care settings as well. Since then, research on violence in health care has increased exponentially, helping to raise awareness of the problem. Despite this, the incidence of violence has increased, including during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Estimates of costs associated with non-fatal workplace violence in health care settings range from $109,000 per year for treatment and indemnity among injured nurses to over $330,000 per year in a single hospital system. These estimates do not include the costs of the psychological trauma, fear, and work dissatisfaction that may develop in employees' response to workplace violence or patient-related costs. Patient-related costs may be due to direct injury caused by a violent act, but they can be indirect as well, resulting from gaps in care due to staff absences caused by violence-related injury. ... The key elements just outlined are included in the new Joint Commission standards, which also provide links to resources that can guide hospitals in efforts to fulfill the standard requirements. Workplace violence has been recognized as a serious issue by The Joint Commission for well-over a decade. Since 2008, the Joint Commission has issued Sentinel Event Alerts and Quick Safety newsletters that have highlighted violence and the need for preventive measures. Topics have ranged from "behaviors that undermine a culture of safety" to "physical and verbal violence against health care workers to "de-escalation in health care." In addition, The Joint Commission has published multiple blog posts presentations, and a podcast on workplace violence and its prevention in hospitals. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Behavior Health Personnel Mental Disorders Mental Health Occupational Health Safety Violence Workplace
• Keywords:
  Workplace violence; Assaults; Health care workers; Costs; Legislation; Regulations; Safety culture; Behavioral disorders; Health standards; Psychological effects
• ISSN:
  1553-7250
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Grant
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Michigan ; OSHA Region 5
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  241-245
• Volume:
  48
• Issue:
  4
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064917
• Citation:
  Jt Comm J Qual Patient Saf 2022 Apr; 48(4):241-245
• Contact Point Address:
  Judith E. Arnetz, PhD, MPH, PT, Department of Family Medicine, Michigan State University College of Human Medicine, Grand Rapids, Michigan
• Email:
  arnetzju@msu.edu
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• Performing Organization:
  Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20110901
• Source Full Name:
  Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety
• End Date:
  20150831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:9048099823fac95c322163c0ec15ad6052b1d6fe7c4e2b514901cc6da6261e78c6d2a072499c4f17b03e4d3d396284a920cbc99d1d06589edb5476e9b23aae71
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/249272/cdc_249272_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 192.29 KB ]