Workplace Violence Interventions Used by Home Healthcare Workers

The threat of workplace violence (WPV) is a significant occupational hazard for home healthcare workers (HHCWs). The purpose of this integrative review is to examine WPV interventions used by HHCWs to stay safe while working in the patient's home and community. The methodology used was the integrative review by Whittemore and Knafl (2005), which allows for inclusion of experimental and non-experimental research, reflecting the state of the science on interventions used by HHCWs to mitigate and prevent WPV. A total of 17 articles pertained to interventions used by HHCWs. Interventions were further categorized by WPV Type. There are a number of interventions used for Type I and II WPV. However, interventions for Type III WPV are minimal and interventions for Type IV WPV are obsolete. Safety and health training were shown to be significant in increasing HHCWs' confidence and knowledge about WPV prevention. Researchers demonstrated safety and health training are effective in promoting a safe work environment and reducing incidents of WPV. This review begins to fill the gap in the literature on interventions used by HHCWs to mitigate and prevent WPV.