Getting physically and verbally abused has become far too commonplace for health care workers. And while these circumstances against health care workers are nothing new, they have steadily increased over the past decade and were further exacerbated by the pandemic.
Not only do incidents of abuse cause physical and psychological injury for health care workers, workplace violence and intimidation make it more difficult for nurses, doctors, and other clinical staff to provide safe, quality patient care.
The safety and well-being of the health care workforce is a basic precondition for delivering safe and effective patient care. A new white paper from HQI — Workplace Violence in Hospitals: Issues, Trends, Prevention, and Response — provides an overview of the challenges faced by hospitals and outlines the strategies being undertaken by HQI, the California Hospital Association (CHA), and our Regional Associations to support member hospitals.
To assist in this effort, HQI will establish and facilitate a Community of Practice dedicated to individuals leading workplace violence programs in their respective hospitals and continue to provide education and training on various salient topics related to the issue. Furthermore, recognizing the widespread problem of underreporting hospital workplace violence incidents, HQI will investigate opportunities to assist hospitals in implementing, monitoring, surveillance, and actionable reporting mechanisms.
Feedback or questions about the white paper and other inquiries about the topic of workplace violence can be directed to Boris Kalanj, HQI’s director of programs, at bkalanj@hqinstitute.org.
Protecting health care employees from workplace violence has been — and will continue to be — a top priority for HQI, CHA, and the Regional Associations as we work to ensure a safe environment for all.