Use of a Risk Assessment Tool in the Prevention and Management of Violence in Hospitals

The purpose of this presentation is to examine whether a violence risk assessment tool is effective in identifying violent patients as they are admitted to hospitals.  Workplace violence is a serious problem that affects all healthcare professionals. The fatal work injuries reported in the United States (U.S.) for 2013 was 4,585 (CFOI, 2015).  In the United States, the overall fatal work injury rate for 2012 was 3.4 fatal injuries per 100,000 full-time equivalent (FTE) workers, compared to the total fatal rate of 3.3 for 2013.  Although the numbers showed slight decrease in the number of fatal assaults, workplace violence is still a prevailing concern.  Although serious assaults and homicides attract more media attention, the majority of workplace violence consists of non-fatal assaults. The Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII) reported an estimated 154,460 nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses involving days away from work during the 2003 to 2012 time period (NIOSH, 2014).  Based on the report provided, hospitals and nursing and residential care facilities comprised nearly three-quarters of the nonfatal occupational injuries (NIOSH, 2012). Nurses, aides, and patient care technicians suffer the most non-fatal assaults resulting in injury.  Due to the growing incidence of assault and injury among healthcare workers, healthcare organizations are mandated to develop violence prevention programs and are urged to increase reporting of violent incidents.  Healthcare organizations have adopted workplace prevention programs but still fail to protect healthcare workers from injury.  Additional measures are needed to cope up with the increasing incidence of workplace violence specifically related to assaults and injuries caused by patients in healthcare settings.  Research shows that the use of a violence risk assessment tool has been proven effective in attempts to prevent workplace violence.  This presentation will (a) review two articles that examine the effectiveness of using a specially designed violence risk assessment tool to identify violent patients admitted to the hospital, (b) examine patient initiated violence in the workplace, (c) explore the use of a workplace violence risk assessment tool to identify patients with propensity for violence in hospitals, and (d) discuss the implication of the use of a violence risk assessment tool to the nursing practice.