Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Incidents of Workplace Violence Events as Reported in Patient Safety Event Reports.

BACKGROUND AND

OBJECTIVES

Workplace violence (WPV) committed against frontline health care workers is a worldwide concern but relatively little is known about relative rates of reported WPV events as identified through patient safety event (PSE) reports before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study sought to understand how the COVID-19 pandemic changed the rates and characteristics of reported WPV events committed by patients against health care workers, as captured in the PSE report system for a Mid-Atlantic health care system.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study analyzed voluntary self-reported PSE reports from March 1, 2018 to February 28, 2022. We analyzed reports in 2 equal periods-pre-pandemic (March 2018-February 2020) and during the pandemic (March 2020-February 2022) -focusing on WPV incidents. Data included event types, reporting locations, staff roles, and resolution strategies, comparing pre- and during-pandemic trends.

RESULTS

We identified differences in WPV PSE reports pre-pandemic versus during the pandemic. During the pandemic, there were more reports involving disorderly individuals and fewer incidents of physical and verbal abuse compared to the pre-pandemic period. Resolutions during the pandemic often involved medication, patient restraint, de-escalation, and security intervention, with fewer reports from providers and nurses but more from other health care staff like security officers.

CONCLUSION

PSE reports contain valuable information pertaining to the identification of system hazards such as WPV events. Analyzing such data provides important insights into how the COVID-19 pandemic affected WPV incidents recorded in PSE system and may also provide a helpful orientation for ongoing monitoring of such events within other health care systems nationwide.