Workplace Violence Pervasiveness in the Perioperative Environment: A Multiprofessional Survey

Background

Workplace violence in health care has gained attention with its rising incidence and its impact on patient safety and clinician well-being. Legal and regulatory organizational requirements related to workplace violence are broadening, including updated Joint Commission standards. Although workplace violence surveys have been administered across health care settings, the few that have focused on the perioperative environment have predominantly been single-profession surveys.

Methods

This cross-sectional, prospective survey focused on perioperative care was conducted by the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation using simultaneous convenience sampling across professional societies representing anesthesiologist assistants, certified registered nurse anesthetists, physicians, and registered nurses. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize responses, and multivariable regression was used to model the odds of experiencing or witnessing physical or nonphysical workplace violence. Open-text entries were analyzed using thematic analysis.

Results

Of 4,662 survey respondents, 3,645 (78.2%) reported some form of workplace violence: 1,446 (31.0%) experienced physical workplace violence, 1,718 (36.9%) witnessed physical workplace violence, and 3,226 (69.2%) experienced nonphysical workplace violence. Fewer than half (49.8%) of the respondents experiencing physical workplace violence and fewer than one third (31.4%) of the respondents experiencing nonphysical workplace violence felt that the “situation was addressed and resolved to their satisfaction.”

Conclusion

Workplace violence is commonplace and reported by all perioperative professionals. There is a pressing need for actions at multiple levels to respond to and eventually eliminate perioperative workplace violence, preventing harm to both patients and staff.