Successful Mitigation of Workplace Violence Against Emergency Department Nurses: What Hospital Leaders Are Doing to Accelerate Progress
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Pepperdine University Pepperdine Digital Commons Theses and Dissertations 2018 Successful mitigation of workplace violence against emergency department nurses: what hospital leaders are doing to accelerate progress Judith A. Mikalonis Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd Recommended Citation Mikalonis, Judith A., "Successful mitigation of workplace violence against emergency department nurses: what hospital leaders are doing to accelerate progress" (2018). Theses and Dissertations. 1022. https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/etd/1022 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Pepperdine Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Pepperdine Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected], [email protected]. SUCCESSFUL MITIGATION OF WORKPLACE VIOLENCE AGAINST EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT NURSES: WHAT HOSPITAL LEADERS ARE DOING TO ACCELERATE PROGRESS A Research Project Presented to the Faculty of Pepperdine Graziadio Business School ________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science in Organization Development _______________________________ by Judith A. Mikalonis December 2018 © 2018 Judith A. Mikalonis This research project, completed by JUDITH A. MIKALONIS under the guidance of the Faculty Committee and approved by its members, has been submitted to and accepted by the faculty of Pepperdine Graziadio Business School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ORGANIZATION DEVELOPMENT Date: December 2018 Faculty Committee Committee Chair, Gary Mangiofico, Ph.D. Committee Member, Terri Egan, Ph.D. Deryck van Rensburg, DBA, Dean Pepperdine Graziadio Business School Abstract The purpose of this study was to explore and understand the successful prevention and mitigation of workplace violence (WPV) against nurses in the Emergency Department (ED), and to learn what multidisciplinary hospital leaders are doing to accelerate progress. Specifically, the research considers the strategies, policies and actions hospital leaders are using to prevent and mitigate WPV; the positive progress or outcomes that have been realized thus far; what these leaders have learned in the process, and what they aspire to achieve in the future. In the process of exploring why and how positive progress accelerated, it was found that hospital leaders experienced positive progress in WPV prevention and mitigation when their hospitals provided a WPV program utilizing these exemplary strategies: (a) collaborative multidisciplinary partnerships, (b) fully engaged executive support, and (c) operationalized data. It was interesting to note that as multidisciplinary partners and fully engaged executives collaborated, and supported their teams in the process of establishing these WPV initiatives, a culture of respect was catalyzed and WPV initiatives gained momentum. The details of this research highlight that operationalized data—WPV data put to use in a centralized, customized, evidence-based approach—appears to have functioned as a key accelerant of positive progress in WPV prevention and mitigation for these hospital leaders. Keywords: Workplace Violence, Healthcare, Nurses, Emergency Department, Prevention and Mitigation, Organization Development iii Table of Contents Abstract…… .................................................................................................................. iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures .............................................................................................................. viii 1. INTRODUCTION....................................................................................................... 1 Nature and Scope of the Problem .................................................................................... 2 Overall Impact........................................................................................................... 2 Workplace Violence Consequences for Nurses........................................................... 2 Workplace Violence Consequences for Hospitals, Health Systems, and Patients .............. 3 Frequency and Overall Impact ................................................................................... 4 Turnover and Costs to Replace Nurses ...................................................................... 4 Direct Costs............................................................................................................... 4 Defining Prevention and Mitigation ................................................................................ 5 Significance of the Study ................................................................................................ 6 Purpose and Goals of the Study ....................................................................................... 6 Central Questions ............................................................................................................ 6 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................ 8 Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria ...................................................................................... 8 Historical Context of the Literature ................................................................................. 8 Discussion… ................................................................................................................... 9 Precipitating and Contributing Risk Factors .................................................................... 9 Occupational and Demographic Factors for Emergency Department Nurses ............ 10 Environmental Factors............................................................................................. 12 Physical and Operational Environmental Factors ..................................................... 12 Staff-Patient Interface Environmental Factors.......................................................... 13 Perpetrator Risk Factors .......................................................................................... 14 Physical violence ............................................................................................... 14 Nonphysical violence ........................................................................................ 15 Nonphysical Violence as a Risk Factor for Physical Violence ................................. 15 Cultural Contexts of Workplace Safety ......................................................................... 17 Respect.................................................................................................................... 17 Safety ...................................................................................................................... 18 Leadership and Workplace Safety ................................................................................. 20 Prevention, Interventions, and Barriers to Implementation ............................................ 21 Guidelines and Recommendations ........................................................................... 21 Effectiveness and Sustainability .............................................................................. 22 Barriers to Implementation ...................................................................................... 22 Differences by Region and Country ......................................................................... 23 Summary….. ................................................................................................................. 24 3. METHODS ............................................................................................................... 26 Research Design............................................................................................................ 26 iv Participant Selection...................................................................................................... 27 Participants by Hospital Clinical Role and Expertise ............................................... 27 Participant Hospitals................................................................................................ 28 Participant Enrollment ............................................................................................. 29 Data Collection Procedures ........................................................................................... 29 Online Demographic Survey ................................................................................... 29 Interviews ............................................................................................................... 29 Data Analysis Procedures .............................................................................................. 30 Reliability and Validity ................................................................................................. 31 Summary....................................................................................................................... 31 4. FINDINGS ................................................................................................................ 32 Demographic Data .......................................................................................................