Workplace Violence Prevention Act in Healthcare

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Table of Contents

Introduction
Acts Protecting Health Care Workers From Occupational Abuse
Conclusion
References

Introduction

Apart from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and various challenges with patients, nurses often face the issue of workplace violence. This term is defined as “any act or threat of … harassment, intimidation … at the work site,” and that “ranges from verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide” (Forsley, 2022, p. 6). Unfortunately, this problem is highly underreported, but it does not mean this situation can be ignored because it harms clinicians’ physical and emotional well-being (Arnetz, 2022; Stand, 2021). Therefore, the federal government passed legislation to protect health care workers from occupational abuse. The H.R. 1195 Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act became effective in January 2022 (Arnetz, 2022). The President’s administration expressed its strong support for this act, highlighting the importance of preventing incidents of violence for nurses who stand at the forefront of U.S. healthcare (Executive Office of the President [EOP], 2021). This legislation was mainly enforced by the American Nurses Association (ANA), which ensures that hospital staff’s interests are adequately addressed to the public and the policymakers.

Acts Protecting Health Care Workers From Occupational Abuse

ANA is a non-profit organization with a strong influence in the nursing field. The association was founded in 1896, and it now has more than four million registered members across all fifty states (ANA, n.d.). The main objectives of ANA are to promote an ethical and safe work environment, improve nurses’ well-being, set high standards in this profession, and address issues that affect public health (ANA, n.d.). Furthermore, this organization strives to serve as a representative of the interests of the nursing staff to lobby the laws that are passed by the government concerning health care workers. For example, ANA endorsed the 1195 act in 2021 by facilitating the passage of this legislation in the House and the Senate (Stand, 2021, para. 6). This law was an essential step toward reducing the incidence of assaults against nurses and social workers.

The H.R. 1195 Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act showed that the federal government is concerned with the problem of workplace violence and aims to minimize it across all hospitals. The decision to pass this law was based on the statistics provided by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) (Forsley, 2022). Specifically, according to the CDC survey conducted among 26,000 nurses from March to April 2020, 25% of the respondents reported some form of violence in the workplace (Forsley, 2022, p. 7). However, it is strongly believed that these numbers are at least three times higher (Forsley, 2022). The pressure from the staff shortage and equipment at the beginning of the pandemic was heightened by the threats that health care workers received from patients. For instance, the comments that nurses received were “I’m going to get my gun” and “you should be executed for crimes against humanity” (Forsley, 2022, p. 7). It was amid the pinnacle of the coronavirus crisis when clinicians worked long hours and put their own health at risk, to provide the best care to hospitalized individuals.

The agenda for the identified policy challenge is to raise the awareness of workplace violence in healthcare organizations and vest the responsibility on hospital administrations in developing strategies to reduce this issue. According to the 1195 act, employers in clinics should directly involve social service and health care workers in creating “a workplace violence prevention plan” (EOP, 2021, p. 1). Moreover, this policy intends to eradicate retaliation for reporting such incidents, which should resolve the issue of underreporting (EOP, 2021). It will empower nurses and social workers to discuss this problem with their colleagues and hospital leaders.

This particular challenge of the nursing profession has long been identified by ANA and the policymakers. However, the official surveillance and statistical analysis of the scope of the issue was performed by the CDC, not ANA (Forsley, 2022). Still, the latter utilized the provided results to facilitate enacting the legislation that would help diminish the incidence of occupational dangers in clinics (Stand, 2021). The hope after implementing this policy is that nurses and social workers will be less affected by violence from patients, visitors, co-workers, or employers. Lastly, it is believed that this plan should help reveal the true prevalence of this problem in the United States.

Conclusion

In summary, the Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act is a crucial policy that became effective recently. It can be attributed to the immense influence of the American Nurses Association. ANA’s mission is to ensure that the nursing profession is adequately valued and subjected to high standards. Furthermore, this organization strives to address the issues of occupational health and safety for clinical workers. As the Center for Disease Control survey showed, one-fourth of the participants experienced violent behavior from patients. It is hard to overestimate this problem, considering the pressure from duties that healthcare practitioners fulfill under the enormous stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the 1195 act is a timely measure that will help protect social workers and nurses from being abused at the workplace.

References

ANA. (n.d.) About ANA.

Arnetz, J. E. (2022). The joint commission’s new and revised workplace violence prevention standards for hospitals: A major step forward toward improved quality and safety.Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety, 48(4), 241–245.

Executive Office of the President. (2021). Statement of administration policy. H.R. 1195 – Workplace violence prevention for health care and social service workers act.

Forsley, G. (2022). Workplace violence prevention for nurses and healthcare workers in the state of Maine a health policy initiative [Scholarly project, University of New Hampshire]. University of New Hampshire Scholars Repository.

Stand, L. (2021). Workplace violence bill introduced with ANA endorsement. Capitol Beat.

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Workplace Violence Prevention Act in Healthcare

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