Protecting community workers against violence
Protecting community workers against violence
For community workers such as visiting nurses, home health aides, and social service workers, who are at risk for workplace violence because of the nature of their jobs and extensive contact with the public, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) makes the following recommendations, contained in a U.S. Department of Labor fact sheet. These guidelines are intended as general descriptions, and are not required by OSHA. However, employers can be cited for failing to meet "a general duty to provide their employees with a workplace free from recognized hazards."
Employers should:
• Provide safety education for employees. Local police departments can give training on awareness, avoidance, and prevention of mugging, robbery, rape, and other assaults.
• Establish a communication system, such as a cellular (car) phone, for employees to use while in the field.
• Instruct employees not to enter any location where they feel unsafe. Utilize a "buddy system," escort service, or police assistance in potentially dangerous situations or at night.
• Establish procedures to decrease the risk of robbery (e.g., advise employees not to carry purses) or of assaults by those seeking drugs.
• Require field staff to prepare a daily work plan and keep a contact person informed of their location and schedule throughout the day.
• Assure proper maintenance of employer-provided vehicles.
• Provide field personnel with hand-held alarms or noise devices.
Employees should:
• Learn how to recognize, avoid, or defuse potentially violent situations by attending personal safety training programs.
• Follow procedures for alerting supervisors to any concerns about safety or security.
• Collect detailed information regarding the client’s or patient’s home situation (e.g., exact location, parking facilities).
• Report all violent incidents in writing to the supervisor, even if there were no injuries.
Employer follow-ups after violence occurs:
• Encourage employees to report and log all incidents and threats of workplace violence.
• Provide for prompt medical evaluation and treatment after each incident, regardless of severity.
• Promptly report violent incidents to the local police department.
• Inform victims of workplace violence of their legal right to prosecute perpetrators.
• Discuss the circumstances of incidents of assault with staff members. Provide opportunities for employees to share information about ways to avoid such problems in the future.
• Investigate all violent incidents and threats, monitor trends in violent incidents by type or circumstance, and institute corrective actions.
Adapted from: U.S. Department of Labor. "Protecting Community Workers Against Violence." Fact Sheet No. OSHA 96-53. Washington, DC; 1996.
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