Perspectives on legal strategies to prevent workplace violence.

TLDR

Workplace violence in the United States causes about 1,000 deaths and 1.5 million nonfatal injuries annually, yet existing state and federal guidelines lack a robust research agenda to evaluate intervention effectiveness. This article examines workplace violence from three perspectives and argues for evaluating alternative strategies, sharing findings with policymakers, and implementing effective prevention measures. The authors review the processes for installing a prevention program in manufacturing, fully implementing it in health care, and mandating it at the state level.

Abstract

Workplace violence is a continuing problem in the United States, accounting for approximately 1,000 deaths each year and for more than 1.5 million incidents of nonfatal injuries. State and federal agencies have published guidelines for preventing workplace assaults, but there is a need for a strong research agenda to address the effectiveness of intervention strategies. After an overview, this article provides a discussion of workplace violence from three perspectives. One section discusses the process used in a manufacturing setting to install a workplace violence prevention program. A second section provides insight into the processes used to fully implement a workplace violence prevention program in a health care setting. A final section provides insight to the processes brought to bear in one state to mandate prevention of workplace violence in the health care setting. There is a critical need to evaluate alternative strategies to address workplace violence, to make the findings available to legislative and executive branches of government, and to implement effective strategies to counter violence in the workplace.