Violence towards health care workers in general hospital environments is a significant occupational hazard that threatens employee safety, health, work productivity, retention, and the quality of care. NIOSH has established strategic goals aimed at the reduction of psychologically unhealthy work environments generally, and workplace violence specifically, among the 17 million employees within the Health Care and Social Assistance sector. [However, hospitals lack practical and sustainable systems for workplace violence risk assessment and prevention. There is a pressing need for standardization of workplace violence data collection, epidemiological risk analysis, and translation of collected data into effective violence prevention efforts.] The long-term objective of this proposal is to develop standardized methodology for workplace violence surveillance, risk assessment, and prevention.
The specific aims of this project are to: (1) Develop and evaluate standardized, database-generated reports of documented violent incidents attuned to end-user specifications by representatives of hospital safety, occupational health, nursing, security, human resources, [and labor];(2) Develop and implement strategies [using the CDC/NIOSH Hazard Risk Matrix] for [studying database data and] helping hospital management [and labor] to prioritize [worksites for] violence interventions;and (3) Prospectively evaluate the effect of [a worksite walkthrough] intervention by comparing [violence incidence and injury rates, work satisfaction, and staff-perceived work safety culture at [randomized] intervention and control worksites]. This work will be carried out within a multi-site metropolitan hospital system with 14,500 employees. In previous work with the hospital system's [unique] database, this research team has developed methodology for calculating incidence rates and risk factors for [workplace] violence. The proposed participatory action research project will build further on that methodology, utilizing the existing electronic data collection system and database, and working in active collaboration with occupational health, safety, nursing, security, human resource and labor professionals within the hospital system. Using focus group discussions, we will develop user-[adapted], standardized, computer-generated reports of workplace violence incidence rates and risk factors based on the specifications of these [key hospital system stakeholders]. In the next phase, these workplace violence reports will be studied using the Hazard Risk Matrix as a framework for assessing priorities for allocation of violence prevention efforts. Based on the group's analysis, [a violence intervention in the form of a worksite walkthrough] will be implemented and evaluated, using a [randomized] design. Results from this research could potentially be the foundation for a standardized methodology for workplace violence surveillance, risk assessment and prevention that could be used in hospital systems nationwide [to improve worker health and safety].

Public Health Relevance

Workplace violence towards health care workers is an occupational hazard of epidemic proportion, significantly threatening the health and safety of 17 million employees. A critical barrier to [managing] this public health problem is a lack of effective methods for collecting, analyzing and [utilizing] data on violent events [in hospitals]. [If successful, this project will deliver an integrated system for standardized violence surveillance and worksite-adapted intervention with applicability for hospitals nationwide.]

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01OH009948-03
Application #
8511375
Study Section
Safety and Occupational Health Study Section (SOH)
Program Officer
Lioce, Maria
Project Start
2011-09-01
Project End
2015-08-31
Budget Start
2013-09-01
Budget End
2014-08-31
Support Year
3
Fiscal Year
2013
Total Cost
$406,043
Indirect Cost
$98,702
Name
Wayne State University
Department
Family Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
001962224
City
Detroit
State
MI
Country
United States
Zip Code
48202
Viotti, Sara; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Hamblin, Lydia E et al. (2018) Testing the reciprocal associations among co-worker incivility, organisational inefficiency, and work-related exhaustion: A one-year, cross-lagged study. Work Stress 32:334-356
Viotti, Sara; Converso, Daniela; Hamblin, Lydia E et al. (2018) Organisational efficiency and co-worker incivility: A cross-national study of nurses in the USA and Italy. J Nurs Manag :
Arnetz, Judith; Hamblin, Lydia E; Sudan, Sukhesh et al. (2018) Organizational Determinants of Workplace Violence Against Hospital Workers. J Occup Environ Med 60:693-699
Hamblin, Lydia E; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Luborsky, Mark et al. (2017) Worksite Walkthrough Intervention: Data-driven Prevention of Workplace Violence on Hospital Units. J Occup Environ Med 59:875-884
Arnetz, Judith; Lipscomb, Jane; Ogaitis, Joanne (2017) In Search of Effective Solutions to Curb Workplace Violence. ED Manag 29:41-4
Arnetz, Judith E; Hamblin, Lydia; Russell, Jim et al. (2017) Preventing Patient-to-Worker Violence in Hospitals: Outcome of a Randomized Controlled Intervention. J Occup Environ Med 59:18-27
Arnetz, Judith E; Hamblin, Lydia; Ager, Joel et al. (2016) Response to Letter to the Editor, ""Measurement of Workplace Violence Reporting"". Workplace Health Saf 64:46-7
McGonagle, Alyssa K; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Hamblin, Lydia et al. (2016) Management Commitment to Safety, Teamwork, and Hospital Worker Injuries. J Hosp Adm 5:46-52
Hamblin, Lydia E; Essenmacher, Lynnette; Ager, Joel et al. (2016) Worker-to-Worker Violence in Hospitals: Perpetrator Characteristics and Common Dyads. Workplace Health Saf 64:51-6
Arnetz, Judith E; Hamblin, Lydia; Ager, Joel et al. (2015) Using database reports to reduce workplace violence: Perceptions of hospital stakeholders. Work 51:51-9

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