Medical Center Occupational Health Basics-Handout: Violence in Health Care and Its Underpinnings

Handout: Violence in Health Care and Its Underpinnings

Pdf Summary

The document addresses healthcare workplace violence and its prevention, emphasizing the need for comprehensive safety programs to protect healthcare providers. It outlines the objectives of ensuring that healthcare institutions have adequate resources for safety, understanding complete workplace violence prevention programs, and effectively utilizing a checklist by The Joint Commission (TJC) to assess safety systems.<br /><br />Main takeaways include the necessity for institutions to have robust violence prevention frameworks, which consist of program managers, de-escalation training, personal safety skills training, risk assessment and management processes, data systems, emergency planning, and adherence to TJC standards. Key elements also cover understanding violence dynamics, predicting violence, and familiarizing oneself with de-escalation techniques.<br /><br />The document presents historical insights into workplace violence initiatives, dating back to the first formal program at St Thomas Psychiatric Hospital in 1975. It defines workplace violence through standards from organizations like NIOSH, OSHA, and TJC, and categorizes violence into four types: criminal intent, customer/client, worker-on-worker, and personal relationship spillover.<br /><br />Effective violence prevention involves training on de-escalation, risk assessment, recognizing violence, and managing emergencies. Regulatory frameworks like OSHA standards and TJC guidelines support these efforts, illustrated by historical data and case studies showing decreased assault rates through these initiatives.<br /><br />Finally, the document highlights that successful programs involve management commitment, hazard identification, control measures, training, and systematic evaluation. It emphasizes continuous education, reporting, and psychological support for affected individuals to foster a culture of safety within healthcare settings. Known interventions, such as Disruptive Behavior Committees, and guidelines from NIOSH and OSHA provide a structured approach to mitigate and manage workplace violence effectively in the healthcare industry.

Keywords

healthcare workplace violence

violence prevention

safety programs

The Joint Commission

de-escalation training

risk assessment

OSHA standards

NIOSH guidelines

emergency planning

violence dynamics