Objective: This study aims to identify interventions to address workplace violence in the emergency department based on direct evidence from experiences of patient assault.
Methods: We performed de novo coding and thematic analysis of datasets from two geographically distinct institutions and five different sites that contained interviews with 80 health workers.
Results: We identified concepts that corresponded to the micro (workers and patients), meso (organizations and clinical units), and macro (society at large, worldviews, and values) levels of the healthcare system. Within each level, potential interventions fell into the prevention, response, and recovery phases of emergency preparedness.
Conclusion: Efforts to address workplace violence should consider interconnected influences from individual workers, organizations, and society at large. Comprehensive approaches at multiple phases of preparedness are needed to have sustained impact on safety.