Building capacity for the prevention and management of work-related violence in hospitals: Developing and testing a suite of systems thinking resources

Preventing and managing work-related violence (WRV) in hospitals is a significant and complex issue. To date, there have been extensive efforts to address this workplace health and safety issue through establishment of policies, standards, and staff training initiatives. Despite these efforts, WRV continues to represent a critical risk. Given the multi-faceted and complex nature of WRV in healthcare, systems thinking approaches offer a novel and promising way forward. However, the practical application of systems thinking in healthcare safety management practice requires further exploration. The overall objective of this study was to address the research-practice gap by supporting the application of systems thinking for addressing WRV in hospitals. Two studies were undertaken to achieve the objective. The first study aimed to develop a systems thinking-based model of safety management for the prevention and management of WRV in hospitals, and to use this model to prioritise resources for further development. The second study aimed to evaluate the three systems thinking-based safety management resources (supporting risk assessment, incident investigation and reporting culture) via a series of stakeholder workshops. Participants considered the resources to be practical and appropriate for implementation in the hospital sector. Several barriers to implementation of the resources were also raised by participants, and it is recommended these be addressed to support uptake in practice.