Date of Award
4-26-2013
Degree Type
Evidence-Based Project Report
Degree Name
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Department
Nursing
First Advisor
Julie M. Brandy
Abstract
Workplace violence (WV) is commonplace in American culture, and nurses working in emergency departments (ED) are not immune to its effects. Violence against emergency department nurses is prominent in current nursing literature, and a cause for major concern. Regrettably there is no consistent tool being used to assess for potential patient violence specific to the emergency department. Current assessment tools have been developed and are commonly used in the mental health arena. This evidence-based practice project concentrated on answering the clinical question of whether or not a violence risk assessment checklist reduced the incidence of violence and increased perception of safety of WV experienced by emergency department nurses. Erickson, Tomlin and Swain’s (1983) Modeling and Role-Modeling (MRM) Theory was employed as the theoretical framework to support implementation for this EBP project. Answers to the clinical question noted above were provided following the implementation of the Bröset Violence Checklist (BVC) by a convenience sample of nurses employed in a community hospital system in Indiana. Data were collected using pre and post intervention staff assessment surveys. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and by paired t-test, allowing for a comparison of the mean pre and post-education staff assessment scores. Results demonstrated a clinically significant improvement in five types of violence experienced by nurses: names called, kicked, pushed, threatened with physical harm and yelled at. There was no statistically significant increase in the perception of overall safety from WV after the implementation of the BVC (p >.05). However, there was a statistically significant decrease of overall violence experienced by nurses after the educational intervention (p<.05). The findings suggest that the use of the BVC resulted in a decreased incidence of violence towards emergency department nurses. Results from this evidence-based practice project indicate the BVC could be effective in other clinical areas to decrease the incidence of patient violence.
Recommended Citation
Knapp, Sarah, "The Effects of a Violence Assessment Checklist on the Incidence of Violence for Emergency Department Nurses" (2013). Evidence-Based Practice Project Reports. 23.
https://scholar.valpo.edu/ebpr/23
