Top Healthcare Violence News - March 2025 Month-In-Review

Did you know that this is National Workplace Violence Awareness Month? It seems like some patients do, because they're bringing awareness to the cause through headline-making violence.

As the weather warms up, we can expect less violence...uhh... checks notes I mean, more violence because high temps lead to angrier people. Wait, I thought colder temperatures also made people more miserable and violent? Ugh...

Violence Towards ICU Staff Has Broad Impact

Profound impacts of WPV on staff in high-stakes care environment

A recent meta-synthesis study sheds light on the high prevalence and deep psychological impact of workplace violence occurring in Intensive Care Units (ICUs). As the recent incident in Pennsylvania dramatically highlighted, ICU clinical staff face frequent verbal and physical aggression—often from patients and families—leading to emotional distress, burnout, and shifts in patient care. The study analyzed the results of eight studies from Australia, Mexico, Korea, and China. With the exception of two studies, all were performed in general ICUs.

The analysis of the studies uncovered six themes:

1- Prevalence of ICU Violence

2- Perceptions of workplace violence

3- The ripple effect of WPV in the ICU

4- Practical strategies for ICU staff dealing with WPV

5- What staff need when facing violence

6- Reasons for not reporting violence

1- Prevalence of ICU Violence: It's no surprise that frequent encounters with violence have become a routine part of the ICU environment for staff. This study confirmed what many ICU staff deal with daily.

2- Perceptions of Workplace Violence: The emotional distress of workplace violence on ICU staff is profound with emotional responses including shock, fear, anger, stress and more. Some participants in studies expressed their surprise at the level of violence in the ICU. However, caregivers were still able to be empathic towards their patients despite the violence they encountered.

3- The Ripple Effect of Violence in the ICU: The impacts of violence on ICU staff was categorized into three key areas: avoidance behavior, personal impact, and professional burnout.

The impact of WPV on caregivers has serious, negative impacts on the dynamic between clinical staff and their patients. This can include a detached, defensive approach to caregiving.

Further, personal impacts of violence follow caregivers home and they arrive at work stressed and unhappy. All of this, of course, can lead to professional burnout, which is a trigger for leaving the profession and diminished caregiving abilities.

4- Practical Strategies for ICU Staff Dealing with WPV: ICU staff employed coping strategies including tolerance and acceptance, seeking support from colleagues and supervisors; proactive patient communication; and direct patient confrontation.

5- What Staff Need When Facing Violence: The study highlighted what ICU staff wanted to help with violence, including: education and training to cope with violence; psychological counseling; and reporting systems for violence.

6- Reasons for Not Reporting Violence: It's no surprise that the reasons for ICU staff not reporting violence map onto common reasons for any clinician deciding not to report. Reasons included: acceptance of violence as part of the job; fear of retaliation; prioritizing patient safety over personal safety.

Analysis: 

Violence risks in the ICU environment demand a focused prevention and mitigation approach. Clinical staff are caring for patients with the most serious needs. Family members are stressed and can become angry as their loved one's life hangs in the balance. It's a high-stress environment that has the elements needed for high violence risk.

Performing a focused, in-depth security and violence risk assessment on your ICU(s) with input from line clinical staff and leadership is a good first step in understanding the unique risk factors and needs in this environment. From here, collaborative prevention and mitigation strategies can be mapped out.

News and Research You Can Use

Study: Weapons Screening Doesn't Reduce Overall WPV Rates

Researchers conducing a meta-analysis study of hospitals that had implemented weapons screening technology found no evidence that it did not have an impact on overall rates of violence.

Most of the studies included were ranked as having low experimental robustness and only two measured impacts of weapons screening technology on overall WPV rates. This suggests that more robust, sound research is needed to evaluate this technology and its impacts on WPV.

The study authors suggest that while weapons in the healthcare environment should not be an accepted risk, implementing screening technology may divert funding from other activities that can have a significant overall impact on WPV.

Eight States Have Passed or Considering WPV Legislation in 2025

A recent Becker's article highlighted that states are taking prevention and mitigation of violence into their own hands in the absence of federal legislation and regulation.

States considering legislation include Alaska, Indiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Virginia, and Washington. Ohio is the only state that recently signed a bill into law in January. Most of the legislation pending is focused on implementing workplace violence plans, policies and procedures.

Using state law as leverage to get healthcare organizations to prioritize strategies to prevent and mitigate violence is a step in the right direction. However, healthcare organizations must realize that they have a moral obligation to protect staff from violence first and foremost.

That's all for now!

Stay safe out there and keep fighting the good fight.

-Dave