How workplace violence affects home care nurses

US Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that home health care is considered one of the fastest-growing industries in America, with a projected compound annual growth rate of 5% from 2014 to 2024, representing the creation of roughly 760,400 recent jobs. Given patients’ continued preference to remain at home and advances in telemedicine, community nurses will proceed to be a significant growth area within the healthcare industry. Workplace violence has long been a challenge to health care, with health care staff accounting for 73% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses attributable to violence within the U.S. prior to 2019. Unfortunately, research continues to point out that rates of workplace violence work increased in the course of the Covid-19 pandemic. And while some clinical settings, reminiscent of emergency departments or psychiatric/behavioral health departments, have high rates of workplace violence, home health care staff often find themselves in situations that increase their risk of encountering workplace violence .

Home health risk aspects

Community nurses are sometimes the one caregivers present when home health care is provided. Depending on the patient’s behavior, this may increasingly end in an unsecured environment. Other people in the house, reminiscent of a friend or member of the family, might also be answerable for causing workplace violence. Verbal abuse by a patient, member of the family or other person in a care setting is taken into account a type of workplace violence, as is physical abuse, stalking or threats of harassment. Cara Lunsford, RN, founder and CEO of HOLLIBLU and vice chairman of community at Relias, has long understood the physical and mental toll of providing home nursing care. “Home health and hospice can be challenging and sometimes involve significant safety concerns,” Lunsford explained.

“Nurses are expected to go into private homes, sometimes in the middle of the night, without prior knowledge of the family dynamics within that household. Sometimes patients or family members struggle with mental illness which can place a health visitor at home, a situation that will be very dangerous if the environment turns out to be unsafe,” she added.

The effects of violence in the workplace

The profession of a nurse is challenging in itself, but incidents of workplace violence can add additional stress and difficulty to the role. One test Research with home care nurses found that exposure to workplace violence was associated with greater stress, depression, sleep problems and burnout. Of the participants, 50% reported incidents of verbal aggression, 26% reported workplace aggression, 23% experienced workplace violence, and 25% experienced sexual harassment in the last year alone. The study notes that confidence in addressing workplace aggression protects home care workers from negative work and health outcomes. This factor is crucial to taking steps to reduce incidents of workplace violence and their impact on nursing staff. Increasing support for nurses in reporting workplace violence can help them better identify where, when and what types of workplace violence are occurring to better address the problem.

Preventing workplace violence in home health care

Some article With Joint Commission Journal of quality and patient safety discussed a study examining the latest evidence from peer support programs, ranging from adverse clinical events to workplace violence. Using databases from the forYOU team at University of Missouri Health Care (MU Health Care) and the RISE (Resilience in Stressful Events) team at Johns Hopkins Hospital (JHH), researchers found that nurses are the most common victims seeking peer support. Not surprisingly, the study reported a recent significant increase in incidents of violence against healthcare workers and a parallel increase in calls for peer support related to workplace violence. While it is necessary to provide appropriate support and resources to nurses who have experienced workplace violence, continuing to work to prevent workplace violence is an effort that nurses need now more than ever.

CDC and National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) steps described both organizations and home health care workers can take to prevent violence in the workplace. Best practices for home health agencies include adopting a zero-tolerance policy for all incidents of violence and working with police to identify potentially dangerous neighborhoods where special precautions should be taken and communicate this information to employees.

“It is important that a proper assessment is carried out before sending anyone home. “If a nurse asks her to be connected to another nurse for a visit because of potential concerns, the home health agency should honor that request,” Lunsford said. At a time when the United States cannot afford to lose more nurses attributable to the persistent nursing shortage, the specter of violence against nurses within the workplace can’t be ignored. During the Covid-19 pandemic, nurses found themselves in a particularly difficult situation, which increased moral damage, burnout and regarded leaving the occupation altogether. As policies and native mandates impacted patient frustration with health care delivery, nurses became victims of much more incidents of workplace violence. Providing care in an unfamiliar environment with many unknown aspects, home care nurses are at unique risk of workplace violence. People called to take care of others deserve respect, support, and resources to maintain themselves secure first. Violence in health care settings reflects chaos within the broader work environment. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health defines workplace violence as “acts of violence (including physical assaults and threats of assault) directed against individuals at work or within the line of duty.” Not only do experts agree on the extent of violence in health care settings, but in addition they agree on the perfect treatment for it: education and prevention. Nurses increase their awareness and expertise in coping with violence in skilled settings by learning to discover risk aspects and warning signs and using interventions that may protect their patients and themselves from harm. According to statistics and forecasts of the National Labor Office and the Health Resources and Services Administration, there’s a growing demand for nurses qualified to take care of patients of their homes. Now is a great time to think about a profession as a house health nurse. This course provides nurses with details about home health nursing practice in order that the nurse can determine whether home health nursing is a great profession alternative for them. Discusses the rewards, challenges, required skills, regulations, and kinds of agencies in home health care. This course provides an orientation to home take care of skilled nurses who don’t have any experience with home health services, which include home care and residential health care. Provides students with introductory instruction covering an outline of home health care, patient eligibility criteria for home health care, health and safety risks related to home health care, and proper infection control practices in the house.