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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Matt London, MS¹, Jonathan Rosen, MPH, CIH¹, Jane Lipscomb, PhD, RN², and Evelyn I. Bain, M Ed, RN, COHN-S³. (1) Health and Safety Department, NYS PEF, 1168 Troy-Schenectady Road, Albany, NY 12212, 5187851900, jrosen@pef.org, (2) School of Nursing, University of Maryland, 515 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, MD 21201, (3) Health and Safety Division, Massachusetts Nurses Association, 340 Turnpike Street, Canton, MA 02021

Workplace violence has been recognized as a significant hazard in the US for more than fifteen years. Despite extensive documentation that upwards of 2,000,000 workplace assaults are committed annually, including hundreds of murders, no federal workplace violence standard exists. While OSHA and NIOSH have each promulgated useful guidance documents, the lack of an enforceable standard means that many employers do little or nothing to prevent workplace violence. The NYS Public Employees Federation has devoted extensive resources to this problem, collaborating with other unions, academic institutions, state agencies, and NIOSH. In October 2005 a statewide Stop Workplace Violence campaign was launched, including a series of day-long mobilization/trainings and other activities. The goals are two-fold: to facilitate the development of worksite-specific action plans in high-risk workplaces and to advocate for the passage of three pieces of legislation. The legislation would: require public employers to conduct a workplace violence assessment and adopt appropriate prevention measures, provide safeguards to mental health field workers, and require the State to compile and analyze injury data for all state agencies and for the major state institutions (prisons, psychiatric hospitals, etc.) that are at highest risk. Legislation has been proposed, and even enacted, in a number of other states, often on the heels of a violent tragedy. Panelists will include a nurse who suffered a serious assault, union health and safety staff who developed the campaign, a representative from a state that has enacted legislation, and university researchers who have partnered with the union on this campaign.

Learning Objectives:

• Attendees will be able to identify high-risk industries and occupations, develop potential prevention measures, understand the toll of workplace violence on a personal level, and be able to assess the feasibility of launching a campaign of their own

Keywords: Occupational Injury and Death, Violence Prevention

Related Web page: www.pef.org/stopworkplaceviolence

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered

Recorded presentation