title: Non-physical violence: a risk factor for physical violence in health care settings.
abstract: This research study assessed the extent to which non-physical violence is a risk factor for physical violence against workers in health care settings. More than 600 nursing staff, other clinical providers, and non-clinical staff in two health care settings completed a cross-sectional survey. For the preceding 12-month period, 72.8% of workers reported at least one incident of non-physical violence and 21.3% reported at least one incident of physical violence. Workers who had experienced non-physical violence were 7.17 times more likely to experience physical violence than those who had not. Both patients and employees were perpetrators of non-physical and physical violence. These results indicate efforts to prevent or reduce physical violence against health care workers need to focus on non-physical as well as physical violence and employee as well as patient perpetrators.
authors.affiliation: VA Medical Center, Bedford, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Marilyn L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Robert A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Zeiss
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rierdan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003220:Conflict, Psychological; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006282:Health Personnel / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006306:Health Surveys; D006787:Hospitals, Veterans; D006801:Humans; D007400:Interprofessional Relations; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D009511:New England / Q000453:epidemiology; D016272:Occupational Health / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011159:Population Surveillance; D015995:Prevalence; D011369:Professional-Patient Relations; D012307:Risk Factors; D012919:Social Behavior; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014728:Veterans / Q000523:psychology; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*