March JQPS: Study Measures Healthcare Worker Exposure to Workplace Violence in Real Time

A study featured in the March 2024 issue of The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety (JQPS) precisely measures nurse and patient care assistant exposure rates to patient aggression in real time, shedding light on prevention and management measures.

“Our study is critically significant as it unveils the staggering extent of violence faced by healthcare workers,” says Joanne DeSanto Iennaco, PhD, APRN, PMHNP-BC, FAAN, FFNMRCSI, principal investigator of the study, professor of Nursing and Psychiatry at Yale University School of Nursing and School of Medicine, and director of the Post-MSN Clinical DNP Program at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. “Of great concern, our findings demonstrate that staff are confronted with aggressive behaviors practically every time they step foot in the hospital. Furthermore, our investigation reveals the distressing impact of these behaviors, as staff commonly report heightened anxiety and feeling threatened.”

A total of 179 aggressive events were recorded, resulting in a rate of 2.54 aggressive events per 20 patient-days. Patient verbal aggression rates (2.00 events per 20 patient-days or two events daily on a 20-patient bed inpatient unit) were higher compared to physical aggression rates (0.85 events per 20 patient-days). The staff aggression exposure rate was 1.17 events per 40 hours worked.

Readers will also be interested in an accompanying editorial by James P. Phillips, MD, FACEP, associate professor, Emergency Medicine, and section chief and fellowship director, Disaster and Operational Medicine, The George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences, Washington, D.C, and chair, Disaster Medicine Section, American College of Emergency Physicians.

The March issue is part of JQPS’ 50th anniversary celebration. Each month, a topic of importance to the Journal and The Joint Commission will be highlighted. In addition to the articles described above, the March issue has an open-access list of WPV articles previously published in the Journal, as well as interviews with experts on WPV.

Also featured in the March issue are:

• The Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety 50th Anniversary Article Collections
• Low Rate of Completion of Recommended Tests and Referrals in an Academic Primary Care Practice with Resident Trainees (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston)
• Internal Medicine Virtual Specialist Assessment Program Reduces Emergency Department Transfers from Long-Term Care (Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Ontario)
• Contextual Factors Influencing the Implementation of a Multifaceted Intervention to Improve Teamwork and Quality for Hospitalized Patients: A Multisite Qualitative Comparative Case Study (Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago)
• Creating a Statewide Assessment and Support Service to Prevent Infections in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis (Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, Lansing, Michigan)
• Improving Supervisor Confidence in Responding to Distressed Health Care Employees (Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota)
• A Combined Assessment Tool of Teamwork, Communication, and Workload in Hospital Procedural Units (Emory Healthcare, Atlanta)
• Digital Stockpiling: An Innovative Strategy for Preparedness and Medical Supply Chain Resilience (Commentary)

For more information, please visit the JQPS website.