Analysis of violent incidents at five regional and remote Australian emergency departments : A retrospective descriptive study

Journal article


Thomas, Brodie, Jacob, Alycia, McCann, Damhnat, Buykx, Penny, Schultz, Rebecca, Kinsman, Leigh, O'Meara, Peter, Edvardsson, Kristina and Spelten, Evelien. (2024). Analysis of violent incidents at five regional and remote Australian emergency departments : A retrospective descriptive study. SAGE Open Nursing. 10, pp. 1-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608241261597
AuthorsThomas, Brodie, Jacob, Alycia, McCann, Damhnat, Buykx, Penny, Schultz, Rebecca, Kinsman, Leigh, O'Meara, Peter, Edvardsson, Kristina and Spelten, Evelien
Abstract

Introduction
Workplace violence is endemic, destructive, and escalating in frequency and severity in healthcare. There is a paucity of research on workplace violence in regional and remote hospital emergency departments (EDs).

Objective
The aim of this study was to identify the perpetrator and situational characteristics associated with violent incidents in the ED across five regional and remote Australian sites.

Method
This study audited hospital summary data, incident reports, and medical records for a 12-month period in 2018 to examine the perpetrator and situational characteristics of workplace violence incidents in five regional and remote Australian EDs.

Results
Violent incidents were evenly spread throughout the week and across shifts. Most incidents were triaged as urgent, occurred within the first 4 hr, and had multidisciplinary involvement. Almost one in every six incidents resulted in an injury. Perpetrators of violence were predominantly young and middle-aged males and almost always patients, with most presenting with mental and behavioral disorders, or psychoactive substance use.

Conclusions
Understanding the characteristics of perpetrators of violence can help in seeking to tailor interventions to reduce further violent behaviors. These findings carry implications for optimizing patient care, staff safety and resource management.

Keywordsworkplace violence; emergency service; hospital; risk management; occupational injuries; security alert; code black
Year2024
JournalSAGE Open Nursing
Journal citation10, pp. 1-12
PublisherSAGE Publications
ISSN2377-9608
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1177/23779608241261597
PubMed ID39049851
Scopus EID2-s2.0-85199392040
PubMed Central IDPMC11268014
Open accessPublished as ‘gold’ (paid) open access
Page range1-12
Publisher's version
License
File Access Level
Open
Output statusPublished
Publication dates
Online23 Jul 2024
Publication process dates
Accepted08 May 2024
Deposited06 May 2025
Additional information

© The Author(s) 2024.

This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).

Permalink -

https://acuresearchbank.acu.edu.au/item/91v69/analysis-of-violent-incidents-at-five-regional-and-remote-australian-emergency-departments-a-retrospective-descriptive-study

Download files


Publisher's version
OA_Thomas_2024_Analysis_of_violent_incidents_at_five.pdf
License: CC BY 4.0
File access level: Open

  • 1
    total views
  • 0
    total downloads
  • 1
    views this month
  • 0
    downloads this month
These values are for the period from 19th October 2020, when this repository was created.

Export as

Related outputs

Increasing the uptake of advance care directives through staff education and one-on-one support for people facing end-of-life
Kinsman, Leigh David, Mooney, Graeme, Whiteford, Gail, Lower, Tony, Hobbs, Megan, Morris, Bev, Bartlett, Kerry, Jacob, Alycia and Curley, Dan. (2024). Increasing the uptake of advance care directives through staff education and one-on-one support for people facing end-of-life. BMJ Open Quality. 13(4), p. Article e002727. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjoq-2023-002727
A cross-sectional study assessing concordance with advance care directives in a rural health district
Curley, Dan, Kinsman, Leigh, Mooney, Graeme, Whiteford, Gail, Lower, Tony, Hobbs, Megan, Morris, Beverley, Bartlett, Kerry and Jacob, Alycia. (2024). A cross-sectional study assessing concordance with advance care directives in a rural health district. Australian Journal of Rural Health. 32(5), pp. 969-975. https://doi.org/10.1111/ajr.13166
Everyone should have their own midwife : Women's and staff experiences during the implementation of two midwifery continuity of care models in regional Australia
Prussing, Elysse, Kinsman, Leigh, Jacob, Alycia, Doust, Jenni, Guy, Frances and Tierney, Olivia. (2024). Everyone should have their own midwife : Women's and staff experiences during the implementation of two midwifery continuity of care models in regional Australia. Women and Birth. 37(6), p. Article 101807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wombi.2024.101807
Drawing blood from a peripheral intravenous cannula and its effect on cannula dwell time, phlebitis, and bloodstream infection : A randomised controlled study
Davies, Hugh, Jacob, Alycia M., Aboo, Lea, Coventry, Linda L. and Jacob, Elisabeth. (2024). Drawing blood from a peripheral intravenous cannula and its effect on cannula dwell time, phlebitis, and bloodstream infection : A randomised controlled study. Collegian: The Australian Journal of Nursing Practice, Scholarship and Research. 31(4), pp. 181-187. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.colegn.2024.04.001
What are the facilitators and barriers experienced by sessional academics during the process of onboarding : A scoping review
Brouwer, Hendrika Jacoba, Griffiths, Semra, Jacob, Alycia, Ricks, Thomas Aaron, Schulz, Paula, Lavell, Sharni, Lam, Louisa and Jacob, Elisabeth. (2024). What are the facilitators and barriers experienced by sessional academics during the process of onboarding : A scoping review. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Management. pp. 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/1360080X.2024.2340987
A Massive Open Online Course Delivered Just-in-Time : A Cohort Study
Leathwick, Sandra Marie, El Ali, Mandy, Jacob, Alycia M. and Jacob, Elisabeth. (2023). A Massive Open Online Course Delivered Just-in-Time : A Cohort Study. Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing. 54(10), pp. 472-479. https://doi.org/10.3928/00220124-20230829-01