• Bradley Partridge and Julia Affleck.
• Research Development Unit, Caboolture Hospital, McKean Street, Caboolture, Queensland, 4501, Australia; Adjunct Senior Fellow, School of Clinical Medicine- PCH-Northside Clinical Unit, The University of Queensland, Herston, 4029, Australia. Electronic address: bradley.partridge@health.qld.gov.au.
• Australas Emerg Nurs J. 2017 Aug 1; 20 (3): 139-145.

IntroductionEmergency Department (ED) workers are prone to occupational violence, however the extent and impact of this may not be evenly felt across all roles in the ED.AimsExplore: 1) the rate of verbal abuse and physical assaults experienced by ED staff, 2) perceptions of safety, 3) attitudes towards security officers, and 4) formal reporting of incidents.Methods330 ED workers were surveyed at four public hospitals in one metropolitan health service district in Queensland, Australia, including 179 nurses, 83 medical staff, 44 administration staff, 14 allied health, and 9 operational.ResultsNurses were more likely to have been physically assaulted in the last six months and were less likely to feel safe. Most ED staff across all roles experienced verbal abuse. Nurses were better than medical staff at reporting instances of occupational violence although overall reporting across all roles was low. Staff who thought that security officers respond to incidents quickly and are a visible presence in the ED were more likely to feel safe in the ED.ConclusionsWorkers in the ED, particularly nurses, experience high rates of verbal abuse and physical aggression and there may be a case for having designated security guards in the ED.Copyright © 2017 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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