The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has released updated guidelines to reduce the risk of workplace violence.
In 2013, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported more than 23,000 significant injuries due to assault at work, with more than 70 percent of these assaults in healthcare and social service settings.
Health care and social service workers are almost four times as likely to be injured as a result of violence than the average private sector worker.
OSHA’s publication includes industry best practices and highlights the most effective ways to reduce the risk of violence in various healthcare and social service settings.
"It is unacceptable that the people who dedicate their lives to caring for our loved ones often work in fear of injury or death," said assistant secretary of labor for occupational safety and health Dr David Michaels. “This updated booklet will help employers implement effective measures to reduce or eliminate workplace violence hazards."
The revised guidelines, which update OSHA's 1996 and 2004 guidelines, incorporate research in the last decade into the causes of workplace violence on healthcare and social service settings, risk factors that accompany working with patients or clients who display violent behavior, and the appropriate preventive measures that can be taken.
According to OSHA, the guidelines stress the importance of developing a written workplace violence prevention program which should include management commitment and employee participation, worksite analysis, hazard prevention and control, safety and health training, and recordkeeping and program evaluation.
OSHA, Risk Management, US, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Dr David Michaels
