OCCUPATIONAL VIOLENCE

Publications

NIOSH Publications on Occupational Violence and Homicide

(The literature search link provides information on journal articles published by NIOSH staff and grantees)

Workplace Violence Prevention Strategies and Research Needs
NIOSH Publication No. 2006-144 (September 2006)
This report summarizes discussions that took place during Partnering in Workplace Violence Prevention: Translating Research to Practice—a landmark conference held in Baltimore, Maryland, on November 15–17, 2004. The report does not include a documented review of either the literature on WPV in general or intervention effectiveness research in particular. In addition, the authors have consciously avoided adding the NIOSH perspective to this report or otherwise augmenting its content. We have preferred to represent as accurately as possible the information, ideas, and professional judgments that emerged from the discussions that took place at the Baltimore workshop.

Violence on the Job
NIOSH Publication No. 2004-100D (DVD)
A training and educational DVD from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) provides employers, employees, safety professionals, and others with recommendations and resources for preventing work-related homicides and assaults. Violence on the Job discusses practical measures for identifying risk factors for violence at work, and taking strategic action to keep employees safe. It is based on extensive NIOSH research, supplemented with information from other authoritative sources.

Violence: Occupational Hazards in Hospitals
NIOSH Publication No. 2002-101 (April 2002)
All hospitals should develop a comprehensive violence prevention program. No universal strategy exists to prevent violence. The risk factors vary from hospital to hospital and from unit to unit. Hospitals should form multidisciplinary committees that include direct-care staff as well as union representatives (if available) to identify risk factors in specific work scenarios and to develop strategies for reducing them. All hospital workers should be alert and cautious when interacting with patients and visitors. They should actively participate in safety training programs and be familiar with their employers' policies, procedures, and materials on violence prevention.
En español

NIOSH Current Intelligence Bulletin #57: Violence in the Workplace: Risk Factors and Prevention Strategies
NIOSH Publication No. 96-100 (July 1996)
This CIB reviews what is known about fatal and nonfatal violence in the workplace, defines research gaps, and recommends general approaches to workplace violence prevention. The document also summarizes issues that need to be addressed when dealing with workplace violence in various settings such as offices, factories, warehouses, hospitals, convenience stores, and taxicabs. No definitive strategy will ever be appropriate for preventing violence in all workplaces, but we must begin to change the way work is done in certain settings to minimize the risk to American workers. We must work together to address the research and prevention challenges posed by the complex issue of workplace violence. This document serves as the foundation for developing a comprehensive strategy for reducing violence in U.S. workplaces.

NIOSH Report Addresses Problem of Workplace Violence, Suggests Strategies for Preventing Risks
DHHS Press Release (July 1996)
This NIOSH report finds that workplace homicides increased in number in the 1990s after decreasing substantially in the 1980s. Homicide has surpassed machine-related injuries as the second most prevalent cause of death on the job, after motor vehicle accidents. The report finds that the taxicab industry has the highest risk of workplace homicides, nearly 60 times the national average rate. Workers in health care, community services, and retail settings are at greatest risk of non-fatal assaults.

NIOSH Alert: Preventing Homicide in the Workplace
NIOSH Publication No. 93-109 (May 1995)
The purposes of this Alert are to identify high-risk occupations and workplaces, inform employers and workers about their risk, encourage employers and workers to evaluate risk factors in their workplaces and implement protective measures, and encourage researchers to gather more detailed information about occupational homicide and to develop and evaluate protective measures.
En español

Occupational Injury Deaths of Postal Workers -- United States, 1980-1989
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report: 1994 / 43(32):587, 593-595
Extensive media coverage of work-related homicides at U.S. Postal Service facilities raised the concern about whether postal workers are at increased risk for work-related homicide, particularly from those committed by disgruntled coworkers. Based on national surveillance data, neither the Postal Service industry nor postal occupations are among the groups at increased risk for work-related homicide ( 1,2 ). To further assess this concern and to determine the relative magnitude of occupational injury deaths in the Postal Service, CDC’s National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) used data from its National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) surveillance system* to examine occupational injury deaths in the Postal Service and compare Postal Service fatality rates with overall rates for all U.S. industries. This report summarizes the results of that analysis.

NIOSH Urges Immediate Action to Prevent Workplace Homicide
NIOSH Update (October 1993)
During one week, an owner of a pawn shop, a convenience store clerk, a psychologist, two sanitation managers, a tavern owner, a fisherman, a cook, two cab drivers, a co-owner of a furniture store, a restaurant manager, a maintenance supervisor, a video store owner, and a postal carrier were all victims of workplace homicide. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), an average of fifteen people are murdered at work each week in this country.

Homicide in U.S. Workplaces: A Strategy for Prevention and Research [PDF - 435 KB]
NIOSH Publication No. 92-103 (September 1992)
In July 1990, NIOSH convened a panel of experts in the field of interpersonal violence to review the NIOSH data to identify areas of concern and to make recommendations for future research. This document summarizes those discussions, which may serve as the foundation for the development of a national strategy for prioritizing research and targeting interventions to prevent work-related homicides. Workshop participants discussed 1) limitations of available data, 2) important research issues, 3) areas where future research is needed, and 4) evaluation of known prevention strategies.

Convenience Store Safety Poster [PDF - 35 KB]
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health conducted a study of 460 convenience store robberies in three metropolitan areas of Virginia. The purpose of this study was two-fold: 1) to evaluate the effect of environmental and organizational interventions on reducing the number of robberies; and 2) to evaluate the effect of these interventions on reducing injuries to employees during robberies. In this poster, risk factors for being robbed and/or injured are presented along with suggestions for what managers and employees can do to reduce their risk.