There’s been a lot of media coverage over the last year about nurses facing increased workplace violence within hospitals, but lone healthcare workers face even greater risk due to isolation and delayed response.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) defines workplace violence (WPV) as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site.” It can encompass threats, verbal abuse, physical assaults, and even homicide.
According to OSHA, healthcare workers are 4–5 times more likely to experience violence and the US Bureau of Statistics reports that the majority of WPV incidents occur in healthcare with the trend continuing to rise and underreport an ongoing concern.
But not all healthcare workers face the same level of risk…
Key Data on Violence Against Home Health Workers
- According to the U.S. BLS (2018), home healthcare providers have a fivefold higher risk of WPV compared to individuals working in other industries.
- High Assault Prevalence: Studies have reported that up to 44 percent of home healthcare workers have been physically assaulted.
- Widespread Abuse: Verbal abuse is extremely common, with reports ranging from 18 percent to 65 percent of home healthcare workers impacted.
- Sexual Harassment: Up to 41 percent of home healthcare workers have reported some form of sexual harassment during visits.
Lone healthcare workers travel away from main healthcare campuses often without immediate help from security personnel, delayed responses, and increased vulnerability in escalating situations.
These workers can include:
- Home health nurses and aides
- Social workers
- Behavioral health clinicians
- Hospice providers
- Traveling physical and occupational therapists and case managers.
They often work alone in private homes, unfamiliar neighborhoods, and unpredictable environments where unknown individuals may be present, increasing their vulnerability when situations escalate.
In-home settings can involve heightened emotional tension, including substance use, mental health crises, and unpredictable behavior.
A CDC report found home healthcare registered nurses frequently reported:
- Demanding patients (34%),
- Aggressive pets (27%),
- Poor lighting in patient homes (21%),
- Neighborhood violence/crime (19%),
- Patients’ challenging family members (18%),
- Personal security fears (14%),
- Drug use in patient homes (13%),
- Firearms in the home (9%), and
- Racial/ethnic discrimination (8%).
The consequences of home healthcare worker violence can include anxiety, PTSD, burnout, increased turnover, staffing shortages, and lower quality of care.
A significant percentage of incidents go unreported. One study found that as many as 54 percent of home care providers did not report incidents, often due to a belief that violence is “part of the job” or lack of clear reporting processes. As the home healthcare industry continues to expand and field-based risks become more complex, protecting these workers is increasingly imperative.
Lone workers are one of the hardest to protect because they are outside of controlled environments without security present and often lack panic buttons or apps with continual GPS tracking capabilities.
Technology can help fill the gap with wearable panic devices that integrate with safety apps and real-time monitoring, integration with 911, call or corporate security centers, and real-time reporting.
Healthcare leadership should see lone worker protection as a strategic, mission critical necessity for staff peace of mind and retention, liability and compliance and improved patient outcomes. Lone healthcare workers often face the highest risks with minimal protection strategies.
The Help Alert® Hospital and Lone Worker Staff Duress solution, gives your home health workers the same coverage and peace of mind your workers have on your campus. Designed with both discretion and protection in mind, the pendant allows your home health workers to instantly request help in emergency situations without escalating the situation, no matter where they are.
The solution integrates with a mobile application to initiate emergency GPS response notifications anywhere a cell connection is available. Home health workers only need the Help Alert Pendant and their cell phone, which connects to the device via Bluetooth®.
Healthcare leaders should assess existing safety gaps and invest in solutions specifically designed for lone workers, such as Help Alert Lone Worker Staff Duress, to ensure that all healthcare personnel can call for help before or when events occur while on duty.
