title: The Violence Prevention Community Meeting: A Multi-Site Study.
abstract: The Violence Prevention Community Meeting (VPCM) is a specialized form of community meeting in which avoiding violence and promoting non-violent problem solving and interpersonal civility are focal points. A nationwide study to assess the VPCM as an effective intervention to reduce workplace violence was undertaken.
  
  
  
  Seven acute locked psychiatric units of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) throughout the United States participated in the study.
  
  
  
  All patients and all staff on the seven in-patient locked psychiatry units participated in the intervention (VPCM) or as a control (treatment as usual). The study was 21weeks at each site. The three time periods were pre-treatment weeks 1-3, treatment weeks 4-18, and post-treatment weeks 19-21. The VPCM was conducted during the treatment weeks.
  
  
  
  Overall rates of aggression declined by 0.6% (95% CI: -5.6%, 6.5%; nonsignificant) per week in the intervention hospitals and by 5.1% (95% CI: 0.4%, 9.6%; significant) per week for the control hospitals.
  
  
  
  Aggression decreased for both the intervention and control hospitals which could be due to enrollment in a research study and thus being more aware of their ability to address workplace violence at their site.
authors.affiliation: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA. Electronic address: marilyn.lanza@va.gov.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV.
authors.forename: Marilyn
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ridenour
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV.
authors.forename: Scott
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hendricks
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts, Boston, MA.
authors.forename: Jill
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rierdan
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterans Affairs, Washington, DC.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zeiss
authors.affiliation: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA.
authors.forename: Satu
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schmidt
authors.affiliation: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA.
authors.forename: Jeff
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lovelace
authors.affiliation: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Morgantown, WV.
authors.forename: Harlan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Amandus
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology*; D011340:Problem Solving; D011567:Psychiatric Department, Hospital; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D012307:Risk Factors; D013808:Therapeutic Community; D014481:United States; D014493:United States Department of Veterans Affairs; D014754:Violence / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017132:Workplace / Q000523:psychology