Violent Event Severity Tool for Reporting Violent Incidents

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Administration
• Occupational Safety
• Nursing

Background:

• Hospitals require workplace violence prevention programs.
• Inconsistent reporting processes hinder program evaluation.
• The Violent Event Severity Tool (VEST) was developed for standardized violence data collection.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the usefulness and relevance of the Violent Event Severity Tool (VEST).
• To evaluate VEST's utility in standardizing violence data collection and reporting in hospitals.

Main Methods:

• Survey administered to 96 healthcare workers at the 2022 Magnet® conference.
• The VEST tool assesses 6 types and 4 intensities of violent incidents.

Main Results:

• Most participants found VEST easy to use (79%), relevant (85%), and useful (85%).
• Satisfaction with existing incident reporting processes was low (<50%).
• Reporting rates for physical assaults increased with severity: 38% for grade 1, 70% for grade 3, and 100% for grade 4.

Conclusions:

• The VEST is a valuable tool for consistent collection and reporting of workplace violence.
• VEST enhances the evaluation of hospital violence prevention programs.
• The tool effectively captures diverse types and severities of violent events.