Impact of a Healthcare Workplace Violence Prevention Module on Staff Knowledge

The healthcare sector experiences violence 4 times as much as any other civilian domain, including law enforcement and corrections facilities. The clinical practice problem addressed in this project was the lack of adequate healthcare workplace violence (HWV) prevention in a not-for-profit community hospital. The purpose of this project increase awareness of HWV prevention through the use of an education module. Rogers’ diffusion of innovation model served as the foundation for analysis of scores from pre- and posteducation tests. The practice-focused question asked if a module on HWV prevention based on current clinical practice guidelines and peer-reviewed literature would improve staff members’ knowledge on workplace violence. A staff education project was designed to address the practice problem. The research design was an anonymous pre- and posttest for score comparison to analyze data by noting changes in proportion of correct answers. Nursing professionals (N = 14) participated in the education module and pre- and posttests. The percent of correct answers to 18 knowledge-related questions increased from 82% on the pretest to 91% on the posttest. The facility elected to expand the project to a more comprehensive program and requested additional modules to broaden understanding of and sustain HWV prevention strategies. These efforts will enact positive social change for healthcare staff by promoting a culture that embraces a safe work environment, increases staff knowledge on HWV prevention, decreases HWV and is supported by organizational systems