Violence in healthcare settings is a major concern worldwide. Violence against nurses is pervasive issue in healthcare settings. However, violence is not directed to nurses alone; patients may also experience violence from nurses. Workplace violence is any form of violent acts, including assault, threats or sexual harassment directed towards persons at their place of work or duty (NIOSH, 2015). The amount of information on the problem is shady, but indications point to a much larger problem. Violence in healthcare settings affects service delivery. This paper will explore the issue of violence in healthcare settings and prevention measures for employees.
Political factors that may contribute to violence against caregivers is the lack of proper legislation to prosecute perpetrators of such violence. This often results in culprits escaping with minimal fines or going unpunished. The World Health Organization describes violence as the deliberate utilization of power against a person or a group in work-related circumstances. The ambiguity of this definition of violence and that of the NIOSH does not give a clear understanding of actions which amount to violence and those that do not (Phillips, 2016). These leaves such loopholes to be exploited. A nurse once narrated how she was sexually groped by a patient. She was reluctant to report the patient due to the long and tedious process followed up to the point of prosecution. The burden of proof also fell on her. Such legal limitations lead to many cases of violence going unpunished.
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The main components of OSHA's workplace violence prevention procedures can be summarized as employee participation, management pledge, hazard deterrence and control, workplace examination, and training on safety and health (OSHA & Worker Safety , 2015). The top management should be committed to providing motivation and resources to deal with violence. Management commitment and employee involvement go hand in hand. To ensure efficient running of set programs, top employees and skilled employees have to work together as a team. They must apply a particular strategy and ensure its success. Workplace analysis involves a team of top management and other inspecting the workplace for potential hazards. Conditions of the workplace and presence of situations that can lead to violence are observed. After possible causes of violence have been identified, measures are designed to ensure that the violence does not occur (Vladutiu, Casteel, Nocera, Harrison, & Peek‐Asa, 2016). Finally, all staff members retrained on potential hazards for abuse and how to prevent them and protected themselves in situations of violence.
Record keeping and program evaluation are done to ensure that OSHA guidelines are followed. An accurate record of incidences and the response to those occurrences determines the level of effectiveness of the program. Records also help workers do understand the existence of threats and how to deal with them.
The ANA has a policy of “zero tolerance” to workplace-related violence as a means to advocates for the safety of all nurses in their workplace (American Nurses Association, 2015). ANA also require the creation of programs and policies to prevent violence against nurses. The plans should be in line with nurses' code of ethics. Nurses also have to be empowered for them to report any violence. The empowerment programs should also train nurses on how to react when faced with violent or perceived violent situations. Finally, members of the association have to intervene when they see their colleagues in cases of violence.
OSHA's workplace violence prevention guidelines provide organizations with the process to follow to avoid violence in workplaces. Comparison between ANA's Policies and OSHA's guidelines determines that ANA's policies adhere to the instructions provided by OSHA. The organizational policy is therefore in concurrence with ANA’s policy.
Creating a zero tolerance to violence policy is essential in preventing violence. This can be achieved through management commitment and staff involvement. If proper procedures are in place, this can be a useful method to avoid violence. Another method of preventing violence is the risk management approach (NSW Health, 2015). The hazard is identified, and measures are taken to eliminate it. One protocol under this policy is providing nurses with protective equipment like duress alarms. This has proved to be an effective method to help in responsive to violence. Local incident reporting helps in recording keeping to make other staff aware of the existence of the incident.
In conclusion, violence in healthcare settings is a paramount concern. Programs and policies to prevent the occurrence of violent incidents have to be strategized and implemented to arrest the issue. Empowerment of staff on how to deal with violence is also necessary. Creating a zero policy for tolerance to violence will help prevent the violence.
References
American Nurses Association. (2015). American Nurses Association position statement on incivility, bullying, and workplace violence.. Silver Springs, MD: American Nurses Association.
OSHA & Worker Safety . (2015). Guidelines for zero tolerance: New OSHA publication helps prevent violence in the health care setting. The Joint Commission Environment of Care News, 18 (8), 8-11 .
Phillips, J. P. (2016). Workplace violence against health care workers in the United States. New England journal of medicine, 374(17), 1661-1669.
NSW Health. (2015). Policy directive: Preventing and managing violence in the nsw health workplace -a zero tolerance approach. Policy Directive . Retrieved from http://www1.health.nsw.gov.au/pds/ActivePDSDocuments/PD2015_001.pdf.
Vladutiu, C. J., Casteel, C., Nocera, M., Harrison, R., & Peek‐Asa, C. (2016). Characteristics of workplace violence prevention training and violent events among home health and hospice care providers. American journal of industrial medicine, 59(1) , 23-30.
