What’s more said Hurley at a media conference to release the poll findings, “it’s a grim and concerning reality that despite the fact incidents are happening almost daily, workers fear reprisal and incidents are under-reported”.

The majority of respondents said that in the last year, in the workplace they had experienced at least one incident of physical violence, but many said they had experienced nine or more occurrences.

The poll shows that registered practical nurses (RPNs) and personal support workers (PSWs) doing direct patient care, are dealing with disproportionately higher rates of workplace violence. 85 per cent of the nurses and PSWs polled experienced incidents of physical violence such as pushing, hitting or having things thrown at them in the last year.

59 per cent of the poll respondents are RPNs or PSWs. Of those respondents 73 per cent are women. 41 per cent of respondents provided other important support services at NBRHC.

A high number, 81 per cent also indicated they witnessed incidents of physical and non-physical violence toward co-workers in the last year.

53 per cent of nurse and PSW respondents had experienced sexual harassment or sexual assault either physical or non-physical in the last year.

“These workers are largely women. This is violence against women that’s being allowed to happen here. In what other workplace would sexual harassment and sexual violence, at this level be tolerated?” Asked Sharon Richer, OCHU north eastern Ontario vice-president.

The poll also points to a climate of intimidation in the workplace and an under-reporting of incidents. 51 per cent responded that they are afraid of reprisal if they speak up about an incident of violence. The poll shows that there are far-more incidents of violence experienced by respondents than are actually reported.

“The findings show violence is pervasive in this workplace. It’s an unsafe work environment where something is standing in the way of workers reporting incidents. There is a fear of reprisal if you report. There is also under-reporting, which is linked to reprisal. There is no doubt people are afraid to speak out,” said Hurley.

For more information please contact:

Michael Hurley
OCHU President
416-884-0770

Sharon Richer
OCHU, Vice-President North Eastern Ontario
705-280-0911

Stella Yeadon
CUPE Communications
416-559-9300

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system,” says Dr. Brophy.

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study published this week in New Solutions (Assaulted and Unheard: Violence Against Healthcare Staff) found that funding cuts and understaffing, a lack of respect for the workforce and a workplace culture that normalizes violence as part of the job, are among the factors that contribute to the problem of patient/visitor assaults on staff in Ontario hospitals. Almost every participant was afraid to report violence because of fear of reprisal from their hospital.

“Funding cuts by all levels of government are among the factors fueling violence against health care staff, 85 per cent of whom are female. Prime Minister Trudeau’s recent comments about men’s responsibility to end violence against women need to be seen in that systemic context,” said OCHU president Michael Hurley.

In a recent poll, 68 per cent of hospital direct care staff said that they were physically assaulted this year; 20 per cent of them more than 9 times; 42 per cent were sexually assaulted or harassed.

“These women work in a toxic environment. If Mr. Trudeau’s government won’t reverse the funding cuts that are helping to fuel the violence, we ask him, at minimum, to strengthen the criminal code to send a strong and decisive message that there will be consequences if you assault a health care worker,” said Hurley.

The amendment, OCHU, the hospital division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario, is asking for, would apply to a staff working in hospitals, EMS, long-term care, home care and other community health agencies. It would require a judge to treat an assault against a health care worker more seriously for the purpose of sentencing. This is the case for transit employees, a predominantly male workforce.

Last May, nurses Maggie Jewell and Sandra Hillcoat asked Ontario MPPs to support a motion calling on the federal government to amend the criminal code to discourage violent attacks on health care workers.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Michael Hurley            President, OCHU/CUPE        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon             CUPE Communications         416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system,” says Dr. Brophy.

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system,” says Dr. Brophy.

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system,” says Dr. Brophy.

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system.”

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system.”

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

Dianne Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Registered Practical Nurses Association of Ontario (RPNAO), is a conference guest speaker. Martin, who is an RPN herself, will review the expansion of RPN scope of practice recently announced by the College of Nurses of Ontario.

The conference will also focus on nursing team collaboration and the growing prevalence of violence against nurses in the hospital workplace.

About 25 per cent of nurses practicing in Ontario are RPNs. Since the early 2000s, there have been considerable changes to RPN education, competencies and practice, allowing for a broader RPN role in patient care.

Across Ontario, CUPE represents about 20,000 RPNs working in hospitals, long-term care and community settings.

Media are welcome to attend Friday’s conference which is organized by CUPE’s Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU/CUPE) and CUPE 1974 which represents RPNs at Kingston Health Sciences Centre.

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For more information please contact:

Stella Yeadon                       CUPE Communications                  416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

This important international day is a time to recognize the continued resilience and resistance of activists around HIV / AIDS globally and the amazing advances made in prevention and treatment.

AIDS & HIV don’t make the headlines as they once did, but It’s critically important to understand that AIDS is not a disease of the past. Globally, infection rates continue to climb, and millions of people deal with this devastating and preventable disease. In Canada, research shows that fully 20% of people living with HIV are undiagnosed and unaware they are living with the virus.

While the trend lines for new HIV infections in Ontario have been decreasing over the last decade, the last few years have seen numbers increase, which causes great concern.

An important barrier in the fight against HIV / AIDS, both here in Canada and worldwide, is the stigma attached to this disease, a stigma that treats this disease unlike any other, and one that plays a significant role in under-diagnosis, lack of testing, and challenges to obtaining treatment.

As a labour movement in Ontario, we just passed an important resolution at the recent Ontario Federation of Labour (OFL) convention calling on all of us to join those who have been fighting against the stigma around HIV / AIDS for decades.

This year also launches the start of Aboriginal AIDS Awareness Week in Canada. This focused attention for Indigenous communities is particularly important.  Research shows that Indigenous populations have incidence rates of HIV / AIDS almost 3 times higher than other populations in Canada. The racism that Indigenous communities face, coupled with the stigma associated with AIDS / HIV, is a devastating duo that we must all fight against.

Today, we also honour the important work that CUPE Ontario members do in front-line roles in the fight to prevent new infections, to care for those with the disease, and to put an end to devastating stigma still connected to HIV / AIDS.

CUPE Members at AIDS Services Organizations lead this work with the support of our members in health care, social services, public health, and in education.

After years of cuts and frozen budgets in Ontario under the Liberals, it’s sadly not surprising that we are now beginning to see a rise in HIV infections. On this World AIDS Day, CUPE Ontario also commits itself to work with others to increase badly needed funding to combat HIV / AIDS, not only here in Ontario, with a focus on Indigenous communities, but also around the world.  Together we can put a real end to the devastation caused by AIDS worldwide.

Featured in ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy (https://cupe.ca/violence-in-healthcare), the study, led by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), provides a clearer picture of how workplace violence affected Ontario hospital staff physically, psychologically, interpersonally and financially.

Over a period of several months, the researchers visited every region of the province and completed 13 in-depth group interviews, each lasting 2 to 3 hours with 54 individuals representing a range of health care occupations and years of experience.

“We’ve learned that violence against health care staff is very widespread. We can’t ignore this issue any longer. Just as we cannot ignore domestic assault or discrimination or harassment or sexual assault. And we are wrong to make excuses for violence, or silence those who suffer from it, because it has enormous repercussions for workers’ own personal well-being as well as for the care they are able to provide for their patients,” says Dr. Keith.

Many of the staff interviewed told the researchers they often work in pain caused by patients’ aggression. Those working in emergency departments, psychiatric units, forensics units, and long-term care facilities said that they regularly go into work fearing they will be physically assaulted by those for whom they are providing direct medical and personal care.

Incidents of sexual harassment and assault are so commonplace, they are seldom formally reported. In fact, some health care staff felt they would suffer negative repercussions if they were to speak out about it.

The study concludes that there is a lack of institutional and legislative acknowledgement of the enormity of the problem of violence against health care staff and a corresponding lack of resources, such as adequate staffing, appropriate facilities. Preventative programs, like ‘zero tolerance’ policies and security measures and ensuring adequate staffing levels, a strategy recommended in much of the literature, was cited and emphasized in every group interview.

“There is a systemic under-reporting of violence in health care settings. So much so that the problem has been effectively concealed from public scrutiny. As a result, there is little public pressure to change the conditions that lead to violence. We know that ending violence against health care workers is not going to have a simple on-off light switch solution. It will require acceptance that there is a huge problem, focus on prevention and an in-depth look at the overall health of our health care system.”

Those interviewed also identified the impacts of lingering psychological trauma and raised prevention strategies that included a wide range of post-incident supports, such as psychological counselling and financial supports, such as compensation, adequate time off work, and therapy.

Almost every participant in the study expressed fear that their employer might find out somehow that they had taken part in the study and that they might be disciplined.

“We heard that hospital staff care for patients in Ontario hospitals in a toxic environment of physical and sexual violence. They feel unsupported by their managers and are often blamed for the assaults they have suffered, which compounds their trauma. Health care staff felt unsafe talking about the issue of violence with the hospitals. Legislated protections would address the fear that study participants expressed about being reprimanded or losing their jobs for reporting or speaking up about the problem of violence,” says Hurley.

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For more information, please contact:

Stella Yeadon, Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) Communications, 416-559-9300

COPE491/EW

The study, authored by Canadian researchers Dr. Jim Brophy and Dr. Margaret Keith affiliated with the University of Windsor and the University of Stirling in the United Kingdom, and Michael Hurley, president of the Ontario Council of Hospital Unions (OCHU), is featured in a recent edition of ‘NEW SOLUTIONS: A Journal of Environmental and Occupational Health Policy.’

“Our study looks beyond the numbers to better understand this experience as well as give voice to the health care providers who currently are afraid to speak publicly about this disturbing situation,” explain the researchers.

In extended focus group conversations with staff who experienced violence, they also looked at the availability and impact of post-incident psychological and financial support, under-reporting, threat of reprisal and normalization of violence.

Interviews were conducted with 54 health care staff employed in either acute care hospitals, long-term care, forensic or detoxification centres and had experience in a range of departments. Of the 54 participants, 23 worked in forensic, psychiatric, emergency or dementia care units and those employees said violent incidents occurred regularly, in some cases “everyday.”

Provincial polling of 2,000 Ontario hospital staff released earlier this November found that 68 per cent direct care staff, such as personal support workers and nurses, experienced at least one incident of workplace-related physical violence.

With its focus on personal experiences of assaulted staff, the study suggests that violence against health care staff is not merely an individual episodic problem, but a structural and strategic issue rooted in wider social, economic, organizational and cultural factors.

-30-

For more information, please contact:

Jim Brophy/Margaret Keith     Researchers, University of Stirling                          519-735-2944

Michael Hurley                        President, Ontario Council of Hospital Unions        416-884-0770

Stella Yeadon                         CUPE Communications                                          416-559-9300

COPE491/EW