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

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.

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.

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

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

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.