Global research trends in violence against emergency department healthcare workers

Violence in emergency departments (EDs) threatens healthcare worker safety, workforce well-being, and the quality of patient care. This study characterized the growth, geographic distribution, influential contributors, and thematic evolution of research addressing violence in ED settings, with particular emphasis on healthcare workers.

A bibliometric analysis was conducted using the Web of Science Core Collection. The search was performed on June 16, 2026, and included publications from 1984 to 2026. Records were analyzed descriptively and mapped with VOSviewer to examine publication output, subject categories, journals, authors, countries, co-authorship patterns, keyword co-occurrence, and highly cited publications. Reporting was guided by the BIBLIO recommendations.

The search identified 1,074 publications. Annual output increased substantially after 2020 and peaked at 113 publications in 2025. Nursing and emergency medicine were the leading subject categories, and the Journal of Emergency Nursing was the most productive journal. The United States contributed 498 publications, followed by Australia and China. Gloria Gillespie was the most productive author. Network analyses demonstrated a dense workplace-violence and healthcare-worker-safety core alongside partially distinct clusters related to behavioral health, substance use, intimate partner violence, agitation management, and COVID-19. Collaboration between major thematic communities appeared limited.

Research on violence in ED settings has expanded rapidly, particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic. The literature remains concentrated in high-income countries and is dominated by descriptive and prevalence-focused work. Future research should prioritize multicenter intervention studies, implementation science, cross-disciplinary collaboration, and greater representation of low- and middle-income settings.