DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF A COMPREHENSIVE HOSPITAL VIOLENCE SURVEILLANCE SYST

AbstractViolence against workers in the hospital setting has become a growing public health concern in recentyears, with 12-month prevalence estimates ranging from 23% to 74% in recent studies. These estimatesare considered conservative given that several studies have observed significant underreporting ofviolent episodes experienced by hospital workers who often accept this as 'part of the job.' Violenceperpetrated by patients and visitors has been reported to be the most common type of violence in thissetting. There is a lack of standardized surveillance methodology to capture incident cases ofworkplace violence, as well as details about the circumstances surrounding these events in the hospitalsetting. Without these data, policy development is made informally or often based on sentinel events.We propose to design and implement a comprehensive surveillance system that serves to systematicallycapture episodes of workplace violence inflicted on hospital workers by patients and hospital visitors.This system will involve the design and implementation of enhanced reporting mechanisms throughexisting systems currently in place in these study hospitals, as well as the development andimplementation of violence reporting policies and procedures. This study will take place in two largemedical systems located in Texas and North Carolina. We will partner with key stakeholders in eachstudy hospital to develop and implement both the reporting system and reporting policies, as well aspromote and educate workers about the new mechanisms for reporting. We will assess the level ofintegration of the enhanced workplace violence surveillance system in each hospital. This research studyaddresses NIOSH's strategic goal for promoting effective occupational health surveillance conducted byemployers.