Violence at healthcare sites on the rise
UC College of Nursing Associate Dean discusses an alarming trend
Too many healthcare workers are facing on-the-job violence, reports The Repository, based in Canton, Ohio.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says that health care workers are five times more likely to experience violence than other occupations. The American Hospital Association also estimated that 16,990 hospital employees had a violence-related injury or illness that required days away from work in 2022.
Carolyn Smith, associate professor and associate dean for research at the University of Cincinnati College of Nursing, was quoted in The Repository explaining that workplace violence has always been present in hospital environments, but health care settings have seen an increase in these incidents during the past decade.
The story also ran in the Times-Reporter, Record-Courier, Akron Beacon Journal, The Cincinnati Enquirer, The Columbus Dispatch and at least half-a-dozen other publications.
"It is alarming that we are continuing to see increased episodes of workplace violence," Smith told The Repository. "It has had an uptick, especially with COVID and also a corresponding reduction in health care resources, shortages of nurses, and in my opinion, the more business-focused aspect of providing health care."
Carolyn Smith, PhD, UC College of Nursing.
The latest data from National Nurses United showed that 8 in 10 nurses have experienced at least one incident of workplace violence, and 45% reported an increase in workplace violence in their unit in the past year.
Smith, a researcher at UC, studies violence experienced by women of all ages and in occupational health settings. She promotes the importance of work-life balance and mental wellbeing among workers.
She says the COVID-19 pandemic may have also affected the public’s behavior when visiting hospitals. Their level of patience and reactions to longer waiting times may also play a role in unacceptable violence in healthcare settings.
In the state of Ohio, assaulting a health care worker is a first-degree misdemeanor, but there is an effort by local, state and federal lawmakers to toughen sanctions on individuals who commit workplace violence.
Read the full story in The Repository online. (To request a PDF email cedric.ricks@uc.edu)
Featured top image of workplace violence in a healthcare setting. Photo/Istock.
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