According to the International Association for Healthcare Security and Safety (IAHSS) Foundation's 2017 Healthcare Crime Survey, workplace violence continues to plague US hospitals.
The study, which analyzed the responses of security professionals at 222 U.S. hospitals, found that "Workplace Violence Type 2" assaults, acts of violence committed against hospital staff by patients and visitors, accounted for 89 percent of all assaults and aggravated assaults at hospitals from 2012 to 2016. In addition, hospitals suffered 1.4 Type 2 assaults and 0.7 Type 2 aggravated assaults for every 100 employees on staff last year.
In addition, the survey found that for hospitals that saw at least one person charged under an existing "Assault on Healthcare Worker" law, only 15 percent of Workplace Violence Type 2 incidents resulted in a charge in 2016.
The study also reported a slight increase in other crime categories in hospitals. Between 2015 and 2016, the violent crime rate, which includes murder, rape robbery, and aggravated assault, rose from 0.9 to 1 incident per every 100 beds. Assaults increased from 8.1 to 9.3, vandalism rose from 2.1 to 3, burglary ticked up from 0.4 to 0.6, and motor vehicle theft also increased slightly from 0.3 to 0.4. Incidents of theft and disorderly conduct saw the biggest increases, rising from 5.7 to 8 and 21.4 to 34.1 respectively.
