National Nurses United

NATIONAL H ealth care workers are expe- riencing a surge in workplace violence rates nationally, which has been exacerbated by the health care industry's actions during the Covid-19 pandemic. A recent nationwide survey conducted by National Nurses United (NNU), found that the majority of nurses have experienced workplace violence and nearly half have seen a rise in rates in the past year. NNU's report, released in February, ana- lyzes new data gathered from nearly 1,000 nurses working in 48 states and the District of Columbia. (Jan. 1, 2023 to Dec. 31, 2023), regarding nurses' recent experiences of workplace violence and shows that health care employers' failure to implement effec- tive prevention strategies is exacerbating the staffing crisis: Six in 10 RNs report having changed or left their job or profession or considered leaving their job due to work- place violence. NNU's major findings on workplace vio- lence include: • Eight in 10 nurses (81.6 percent) have experienced at least one type of workplace violence within the past year. • Nearly half of nurses (45.5 percent) reported an increase in workplace violence on their unit in the previous year. In con- trast, only 3.8 percent of nurses reported that workplace violence has decreased on their unit in the previous year. • Nurses experience multiple types of workplace violence on a daily basis, ranging from physical abuse to verbal threats. The three most common types of violence reported were being verbally threatened (67.8 percent), physically threatened (38.7 percent), and being pinched or scratched (37.3 percent). Safe staffing is essential to workplace vio- lence prevention. Only 29.5 percent of nurses report that their employer has staff available at all times to respond to workplace violence and a mere 17.0 percent of nurses report that their employer places additional staff to reduce the risk of violence. When employers fail to safely staff units, it increases the risk of workplace violence due to increased wait times, unmet patient needs, and increased stress and moral dis- tress of health care staff. In NNU's surveys and focus groups, nurses regularly noted the role that short staffing plays in increasing the risk of workplace violence. Employers fail to implement proven meas- ures to prevent workplace violence. Scientific research has documented that unit-specific workplace violence prevention plans created with employee input, safe staffing, and other engineering and administrative controls, work to reduce workplace violence. But NNU's analysis of the survey results found that many health care employers continue to fail to implement these essential protections: • Only 62.8 percent of nurses reported that their employer provides training on workplace violence prevention. While train- ing by itself is insufficient, it is an essential element of an effective workplace violence prevention plan. • To effectively identify and correct workplace violence hazards, employers must have a method to track and investi- gate violent incidents. However, only about one in three nurses (31.7 percent) reported that their employer provides a clear way to report incidents. •Nurses shared in NNU's survey and focus groups that they often do not report workplace violence incidents due to unclear reporting mechanisms, lack of action from the employer, fear of employer retaliation, and perspectives that violence is part of the job. NNU strongly supports a comprehensive workplace violence prevention standard. The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act (S. 1176/H.R. 2663) is aimed at protecting nurses, other health care workers, and their patients from workplace violence. These federal bills would mandate that federal OSHA create a standard that would require health care and social service employers to create, implement, and maintain effective workplace violence pre- vention plans. Under S. 1176/H.R. 2663, such a standard would include all the elements that effectively protect nurses and other health care workers. —Chuleenan Svetvilas J A N U A R Y | F E B R U A R Y | M A R C H 2 0 2 4 W W W . N A T I O N A L N U R S E S U N I T E D . O R G N A T I O N A L N U R S E 5 NNU report shows surge in workplace violence rates A majority of nurses have experienced workplace violence within the past year

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