Characterizing violence in health care in British Columbia

Title.  Characterizing violence in health care in British Columbia. Background.  The high rate of violence in the healthcare sector supports the need for greater surveillance efforts. Aim.  The purpose of this study was to use a province‐wide workplace incident reporting system to calculate rates an...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of advanced nursing 2009-08, Vol.65 (8), p.1655-1663
Main Authors: Kling, Rakel N., Yassi, Annalee, Smailes, Elizabeth, Lovato, Chris Y., Koehoorn, Mieke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Aged
British Columbia - epidemiology
Female
Health care industry
Health Care Sector - statistics & numerical data
Health Facilities - statistics & numerical data
health personnel
Health Personnel - statistics & numerical data
hospitals
Humans
Incidence
Male
Middle Aged
Nurses
Nursing
Nursing Staff, Hospital - statistics & numerical data
prevention and control
Regression analysis
Risk Factors
Risk Management - statistics & numerical data
Surveillance
violence
Violence - prevention & control
Violence - psychology
Violence - statistics & numerical data
Workplace - statistics & numerical data
Workplace violence
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Summary:Title.  Characterizing violence in health care in British Columbia. Background.  The high rate of violence in the healthcare sector supports the need for greater surveillance efforts. Aim.  The purpose of this study was to use a province‐wide workplace incident reporting system to calculate rates and identify risk factors for violence in the British Columbia healthcare industry by occupational groups, including nursing. Methods.  Data were extracted for a 1‐year period (2004–2005) from the Workplace Health Indicator Tracking and Evaluation database for all employee reports of violence incidents for four of the six British Columbia health authorities. Risk factors for violence were identified through comparisons of incident rates (number of incidents/100,000 worked hours) by work characteristics, including nursing occupations and work units, and by regression models adjusted for demographic factors. Results.  Across health authorities, three groups at particularly high risk for violence were identified: very small healthcare facilities [rate ratios (RR) = 6·58, 95% CI =3·49, 12·41], the care aide occupation (RR = 10·05, 95% CI = 6·72, 15·05), and paediatric departments in acute care hospitals (RR = 2·22, 95% CI = 1·05, 4·67). Conclusions.  The three high‐risk groups warrant targeted prevention or intervention efforts be implemented. The identification of high‐risk groups supports the importance of a province‐wide surveillance system for public health planning.
ISSN:0309-2402
1365-2648
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2009.05020.x