Interventions to reduce the risk of violence toward emergency department staff: current approaches

Introduction: The phenomenon of workplace violence in health care settings, and especially in the emergency department (ED), has assumed the dimensions of a real epidemic. Many studies highlight the need for methods to ensure the safety of staff and propose interventions to address the problem.

Aim: The aim of this review was to propose a narrative of the current approaches to reduce workplace violence in the ED, with a particular focus on evaluating the effectiveness of emergency response programs.

Methods: A search was conducted between December 1, 2015 and December 7, 2015, in PubMed and CINAHL. Ten intervention studies were selected and analyzed.

Results: Seven of these interventions were based on sectoral interventions and three on comprehensive actions.

Conclusion: The studies that have attempted to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions have shown weak evidence to date. Further research is needed to identify effective actions to promote a safe work environment in the ED.