Violence prevention and trauma reduction in psychiatric healthcare workplaces:

Leveraging facilitators and overcoming barriers to implementing evidence-based practices

What is this about

This project addresses violence and trauma in psychiatric healthcare workplaces by focusing on the following objectives:

• Preventing psychological trauma, injuries, bullying, harassment, and workplace violence.

• Reducing occupational exposure to hazards and risks.

• Decreasing the incidence of serious injuries, occupational diseases, and fatalities.

Background

Healthcare providers are at a higher risk of PTSD and other mental health issues due to workplace violence and traumatic events (Carleton et al., 2019; Stelnicki et al., 2020). They also face significant stresses from COVID-19 and ongoing workforce challenges (Galanis et al., 2021; Morgantini et al., 2020). Over half (62%) of healthcare workers report experiencing workplace violence, with 16% of psychiatric hospital staff suffering from PTSD (Seto et al., 2020). While evidence-based recommendations for preventing psychological injuries exist (Hilton et al., 2020), the current healthcare crisis makes it crucial yet challenging for organizations to adopt and implement these strategies.

This project aims to understand the current implementation of evidence-based violence and trauma prevention recommendations. It will identify barriers and facilitators, as well as effective strategies for implementation. The findings will help create an implementation manual for hospitals, offering clear guidance for leaders and administrators to reduce workplace violence, serious injuries, and related psychological trauma.

Research Objectives and Questions

Our objectives are to:

1. Assess the current state of implementation of evidence-based recommendations for preventing psychological trauma and other psychological injuries among psychiatric healthcare workers.

2. Identify the facilitators (enablers), barriers, and potential strategies for effective implementation.

3. Develop an implementation facilitation manual and evaluate its acceptability through stakeholder feedback.

Call to Action:

Violence prevention and trauma reduction in Canadian hospitals invitation to participate in survey

Your insights are essential if you are the Vice President of Human Resources, an Occupational Health representative, or an employee representative from a worker association or union at a Canadian hospital. We want to hear from you. Your perspective will significantly contribute to understanding and improving the workplace environment in healthcare settings. Please complete the form below; we will provide you with a link to our survey.

This Project is in part funded by WorkSafeBC