Other Titles
Rapid Presentation Round
Abstract
Workplace violence against healthcare workers has increased in the past five years (pre-pandemic) (Brigo et al., 2022; Odes et al., 2023; Sari et al., 2023), with no indication that the violence will return to pre-pandemic levels. In the United States, two nurses are assaulted in the acute care setting every hour (ANA, 2022), but this number is likely much more significant as 40%- 80% of WPVs go unreported.
WPV has been a persistent problem in healthcare for decades. The World Health Organization, Joint Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and many professional practice organizations have statements and recommendations about WPV.
The best programs are those that provide prevention and de-escalation before violence occurs. But sometimes, these measures do not work, and another strategy is to punish the aggressor.
Although no federal laws address WPV toward HCW, several states have enacted laws. Eight states mandate WPV prevention programs and 38 states established increased penalties for assault on an HCW(ANA, 2021).
The laws and penalties to stop assaults on HCWs will only work if workers are willing to report and press charges against the perpetrator, even if the aggressor is a patient. Many healthcare workers hesitate to file charges, and some employers discourage employees from reporting assaults to an outside agency. Not reporting violence increases the risk of further violence as risk management or administration evaluate the event's root cause, patterns can't be established, and the perpetrator is free to continue the violence.
WPV is not part of the job. The ANA Code of Ethics guides in this area: Provision 5: Duty to Self and Duty to Others: "The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety...".
A study is under development to determine the incidence of WPV among HCWs, the reporting trend, and what happens when the victim reports to the organization or law enforcement.
Notes
References:
ANA. (2021). Workplace violence. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/advocacy/state/workplace-violence2/
ANA. (2022). Workplace violence/#EndNurseAbuse. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/work-environment/end-nurse-abuse/
Brigo, F., Zaboli, A., Rella, E., Sibilio, S., Canelles, M. F., Magnarelli, G., Pfeifer, N., & Turcato, G. (2022). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on temporal trends of workplace violence against healthcare workers in the emergency department. Health policy (Amsterdam), 126(11), 1110-1116. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthpol.2022.09.010
Odes, R., Lee, S. J., Hong, O., & Jun, J. (2023). The effect of COVID‐19 on workplace violence in California's hospitals: An interrupted time series analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 79(6), 2337-2347. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.15588
Sari, H., Yildiz, I., Çağla Baloğlu, S., Özel, M., & Tekalp, R. (2023). The frequency of workplace violence against healthcare workers and affecting factors. PloS one, 18(7), e0289363-e0289363. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0289363
Sigma Membership
Nu Omega
Type
Presentation
Format Type
Text-based Document
Study Design/Type
Other
Research Approach
Other
Keywords:
Violence in the Workplace, Workplace Violence, WPV, Healthcare Workers, HCW, Medical Personnel, Barriers to Reporting, Reporting Barriers, Perceived Control (Psychology)
Recommended Citation
Sauer, Penny A., "Responding to Workplace Violence" (2026). Creating Healthy Work Environments (CHWE). 13.
https://www.sigmarepository.org/chwe/2024/presentations_2024/13
Conference Name
Creating Healthy Work Environments
Conference Host
Sigma Theta Tau International
Conference Location
Washington, DC, USA
Conference Year
2024
Rights Holder
All rights reserved by the author(s) and/or publisher(s) listed in this item record unless relinquished in whole or part by a rights notation or a Creative Commons License present in this item record. All permission requests should be directed accordingly and not to the Sigma Repository. All submitting authors or publishers have affirmed that when using material in their work where they do not own copyright, they have obtained permission of the copyright holder prior to submission and the rights holder has been acknowledged as necessary.
Review Type
Abstract Review Only: Reviewed by Event Host
Acquisition
Proxy-submission
Date of Issue
2026-02-11
Responding to Workplace Violence
Washington, DC, USA
Workplace violence against healthcare workers has increased in the past five years (pre-pandemic) (Brigo et al., 2022; Odes et al., 2023; Sari et al., 2023), with no indication that the violence will return to pre-pandemic levels. In the United States, two nurses are assaulted in the acute care setting every hour (ANA, 2022), but this number is likely much more significant as 40%- 80% of WPVs go unreported.
WPV has been a persistent problem in healthcare for decades. The World Health Organization, Joint Commission, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and many professional practice organizations have statements and recommendations about WPV.
The best programs are those that provide prevention and de-escalation before violence occurs. But sometimes, these measures do not work, and another strategy is to punish the aggressor.
Although no federal laws address WPV toward HCW, several states have enacted laws. Eight states mandate WPV prevention programs and 38 states established increased penalties for assault on an HCW(ANA, 2021).
The laws and penalties to stop assaults on HCWs will only work if workers are willing to report and press charges against the perpetrator, even if the aggressor is a patient. Many healthcare workers hesitate to file charges, and some employers discourage employees from reporting assaults to an outside agency. Not reporting violence increases the risk of further violence as risk management or administration evaluate the event's root cause, patterns can't be established, and the perpetrator is free to continue the violence.
WPV is not part of the job. The ANA Code of Ethics guides in this area: Provision 5: Duty to Self and Duty to Others: "The nurse owes the same duties to self as to others, including the responsibility to promote health and safety...".
A study is under development to determine the incidence of WPV among HCWs, the reporting trend, and what happens when the victim reports to the organization or law enforcement.
Description
Workplace violence has increased, with healthcare workers being assaulted, maimed, and even killed. Many states have laws that increase the punishment for those who assault a healthcare provider. However, these laws only apply if the healthcare provider reports the events to the police. What are the barriers to reporting?