Aggression and violence against home care workers

Area of Science:

• Healthcare worker safety
• Psychology of aggression
• Occupational health

Background:

• Workplace violence and aggression are significant concerns in healthcare.
• Home care settings present unique challenges for staff safety.
• Validated tools are needed to assess aggression in these environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate the Violence and Aggression in Health Care Questionnaire (VAQ).
• To examine the relationship between patient aggression and home care worker well-being.
• To understand the mediating role of emotional reactions.

Main Methods:

• Development and psychometric evaluation of the VAQ using German home care workers.
• Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA).
• Correlational and multiple regression analyses with health and strain indicators.

Main Results:

• The VAQ demonstrated high internal consistency (.72–.93) and supported its hypothesized factor structure.
• Aggression indicators correlated significantly with psychophysical strain and health outcomes.
• Verbal aggression from patients was a significant predictor of negative psychological outcomes, mediated by emotional reactions.

Conclusions:

• The VAQ is a reliable and valid instrument for assessing violence and aggression in home care.
• Patient verbal aggression negatively impacts home care workers' psychological health.
• Emotional responses mediate the link between aggression and adverse psychological outcomes, highlighting the need for targeted interventions.