The American Hospital Association (AHA) published an analysis of the liability of violence to U.S. Hospitals. The analysis was written by The University of Washington's Harborview Injury and Prevention Research Center.
The report, titled “The Burden of Violence to U.S. Hospitals: A Comprehensive Assessment of Financial Costs and Other Impacts of Workplace and Community Violence,” says violence is “a significant public health issue.” Violence costs hospitals about $15.57 billion more than it did in 2016. The authors attribute this to rising violent events and a clearer definition of violence.
Workplace violence affects registered nurses, nursing assistants, and patient care assistants the most in hospitals. The rising incidence of nurse abuse is causing them to want to leave their jobs.
The authors hope the report will assist future strategies to combat violence and the effect it has on health systems.
