Australasian emergency care
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Australas Emerg Care · Nov 2018
ReviewIncidence and factors associated with substance abuse and patient-related violence in the emergency department: A literature review.
The level of workplace violence in emergency departments worldwide has reached an alarming level. Substance abuse is thought to play a major part in the escalation of aggressive and violent behaviour and is suspected to be responsible for the majority of violent escalations in the emergency department. The aim of this scoping review was (1) to investigate the incidence of workplace violence in the emergency department, their association to substance abuse and (2) to identify factors associated with workplace violence such as perpetrator characteristics and environmental factors. ⋯ Substance abuse was found to be a primary factor linked to workplace violence in the emergency departments. Interventional studies are warranted, focusing on prevention of workplace violence and management of abuse and intoxicated patients in the emergency department.