Violence and Aggression
According toncbi.nlm.nih.gov, 24–80% of healthcare workers in acute psychiatric units have been assaulted by a patient at some point in their careers. These types of assault include:
- Verbal: 46–78.6% of healthcare workers
- Threats: 43–78.6% of healthcare workers
- Sexual harassment: 9.5–37.2% of healthcare workers
According to pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov, the overall rate of verbal aggression is 0.60 incidents per nurse per week, and the rate of physical aggression is 0.19 incidents per nurse per week. The evening shift (3–11 PM) has a higher rate of aggression than the day shift (7–3 PM).
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), psychiatric aides and technicians experience high rates of nonfatal occupational injury and illness due to violence in the workplace. The rate for psychiatric aides is 69 times higher than the national rate, and for psychiatric technicians it is 38 times higher.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) reports that healthcare workers suffer more workplace violence and injury than any other environment. The AHA also states that 44% of nurses report an increase in physical violence since the pandemic and a majority (68%) report an increase in verbal abuse.