The Emergency Nurses Association’s Institute for Emergency Nursing Research released a new report on the prevalence of violence in emergency rooms.

The report shows that among those surveyed over the course of a seven-day period, participants reported experiencing physical violence (with/without verbal abuse) at a rate of 12.1 percent and verbal abuse at a rate of 42.5 percent. A majority of participants who experienced workplace violence did not file formal event reports for the physical violence or the verbal abuse.

"Nine hundred deaths and 1.7 million nonfatal assaults occur each year in the United States due to workplace violence. These numbers represent only the most serious physical violent incidents; the extent to which all types of violence are experienced in the workplace remains unknown. Workplace violence is a serious concern for emergency nurses. Due to under-reporting, the occurrence of physical violence and verbal abuse toward emergency nurses remains not well understood. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the actual extent of violence and aggression toward emergency nurses."

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