by Brianna Crandall — December 30, 2015—The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) recently unveiled a new Web page developed to provide employers and workers with strategies and tools for preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings.
The new Preventing Workplace Violence in Healthcare Web page, part of OSHA’s Worker Safety in Hospitals Web site, complements the updated Guidelines for Preventing Workplace Violence for Healthcare and Social Service Workers, published earlier this year.
Among the resources on the site, Preventing Workplace Violence: A Road Map for Healthcare Facilities expands on OSHA’s guidelines by presenting case studies and successful strategies from a variety of healthcare facilities, and Workplace Violence Prevention and Related Goals: The Big Picture presents models of how a workplace violence prevention program can complement and enhance an organization’s strategies for compliance and a culture of safety.
Similar to the Guidelines, the new strategies and tools focus on workplace violence prevention programs that include elements such as management commitment and worker participation; worksite analysis and hazard identification; hazard prevention and control; safety and health training; and recordkeeping and program evaluation.
From 2002 to 2013, incidents of serious workplace violence were four times more common in healthcare than in private industry on average, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data. Healthcare accounts for nearly as many serious violent injuries as all other industries combined.
The Web page addresses this issue by providing hospital administrators with information on the risk factors, associated costs and actions that can be taken to manage the problem.
