Addressing Workplace Violence and Aggression in Health Care Settings

Hospitals across the world are experiencing a growing epidemic of aggressive, escalating, and violent patients and visitors. Despite the significant burden on health care organizations, there is a lack of evidence supporting effective management strategies. This article describes one hospital unit’s journey to implement behavioral standards and create a de-escalation algorithm that improved staff perceptions of safety by 25% and reduced events of escalation by 75%. Health care facilities can effectively improve safety through staff engagement in intervention design, development of an interprofessional response to escalation, and effective staff education for management of events of aggression/escalation.