title: Non-violence-related workplace injuries among emergency nurses in the United States: implications for improving safe practice, safe care.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Health care workers are more likely than most other occupations to experience work-related injuries, and emergency nurses frequently encounter job-related hazards in their daily routine. Risk factors for non-violence-related workplace injuries among nurses include heavy workloads, aging of the nursing workforce, workplace environmental factors, obesity, and non-standard work schedules. These factors impact nurses' decisions regarding whether or not to return to their job or to stay in their field of practice, thereby exacerbating workforce shortages and hindering recruitment and retention efforts.
  
  
  METHODS
  To better understand non-violence-related workplace injuries among emergency nurses, ENA conducted a survey of its members in 2009. Of the 2294 nurses who responded to the survey, one in five nurses (n = 440) reported that they experienced a non-violence-related injury while working in their emergency department during the previous year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The logistic regression model found three factors that were related to the occurrence of a non-violence-related workplace injury: (1) hospitals having safe patient handling policies and programs, (2) access to decontamination and post-exposure treatment, and (3) emergency nurses' perception of staffing in their emergency department.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  While these results provide only a preliminary understanding of ED non-violence-related workplace injuries, they form the basis of a fundamental model for prevention of workplace injuries among emergency nurses. The model can be used to help establish a culture of ED workplace safety through the integration of safety policies and programs, access to safety equipment and controls, and optimal staffing levels. Support from hospital administrators for ED workplace safety initiatives that address these three components, along with current best practice recommendations from the field of occupational health and safety, have the potential to improve workplace safety for emergency nurses.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Quality, Safety, and Injury Prevention, Emergency Nurses Association, 915 Lee St., Des Plaines, IL 60016, USA. cperhats@ena.org
authors.forename: Cydne
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Perhats
authors.forename: Vicki
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Keough
authors.forename: Jeanne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Fogarty
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Hughes
authors.forename: Carol J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Kappelman
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scott
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Moretz
mesh_terms: D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D016529:Emergency Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D019538:Health Care Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training; D016015:Logistic Models; D055805:Moving and Lifting Patients / Q000009:adverse effects; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009784:Occupational Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012307:Risk Factors; D017751:Safety Management; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D016526:Workload; D014947:Wounds and Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*