Workplace Violence and Training Required by New Legislation Among NJ Nurses

The aim of this study was to examine nurses' knowledge of the state of New Jersey (NJ) Violence Prevention in Health Care Facilities Act, workplace violence training, and experience with workplace violence.

In 2013, 309 (22.5% response rate) nurses returned a mailed survey. Univariate and multivariate analyses were conducted.

Ninety percent of respondents were female. When the perpetrator was a patient or a family member, the respondents experienced verbal abuse the most (57.8%), followed by threats (52.3%), and physical assault (38.3%). Respondents who had heard of the regulation (89.6%) received a higher proportion of training than those who had not heard of the regulation (57.9%) (P < 0.0001).

Nurses who received at least 80% of the required training components were more likely to feel more secure at work, suggesting that training is an important tool to address workplace violence.