Workplace Violence in Nursing and Midwifery

Dear Colleagues,

Workplace violence refers to the act or threat of verbal and/or physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behaviours in the workplace. It includes a range of behaviours from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide [1].

Violence has been recognised by the World Health Organization as a significant issue facing healthcare workers (WHO, 2019). Healthcare workers are regularly exposed to verbal abuse and physical violence in the course of their work, and for many, it is seen as inevitable and has become expected and even accepted as simply part of the job (OSHA, 2015). According to US statistics, healthcare workers are 5 to 12 times more likely to experience violence in the workplace than other workers (OSHA, 2015). Within this context, nurses are those at highest risk of workplace violence.

The frequency and severity of violent incidents are both said to be increasing; however, we know that episodes of violence in healthcare remain vastly underreported (OSHA, 2015).

The impact of this violence is long-lasting. Verbal abuse can cause significant psychological trauma and stress to nurses, even if no physical injury has occurred, and this can persist for up to 12 months following an incident (Gerberich et al, 2004). 

While media attention is often focused on high-risk areas such as emergency departments and mental health settings, workplace violence occurs in every area that healthcare staff work, from the community to hospital wards and post-discharge clinics (Pich, 2019).

This Special Issue will discuss types of workplace violence, antecedents and precipitants of workplace violence, as well as management and preventative strategies—including interventions to minimize the risk of occupational violence in nursing.

We welcome contributions from researchers worldwide.

Resource from

1 https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence

2 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7879475/

3 https://www.ajmc.com/view/violence-against-healthcare-workers-a-rising-epidemic

Gerberich, S. G., Church, T. R., McGovern, P. M., Hansen, H. E., Nachreiner, N. M., Geisser, M. S., Watt, G. D. (2004). An epidemiological study of the magnitude and consequences of work related violence: the Minnesota Nurses' Study. Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 61(6), 495-503.

Pich, J.(2019). Violence in nursing and midwifery: Executive summary.

https://www.nswnma.asn.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Violence-in-Nursing-and-Midwifery-in-NSW.pdf

Dr. Jacqueline Pich
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Nursing Reports is an international peer-reviewed open access quarterly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• workplace violence
• occupational violence
• violence
• aggression
• patient-related violence
• nursing staff
• nurses
• midwifery