Study Estimates 57% of Home Health Care Workers Experience Violence

BIRMINGHAM— A study published in the journal Home Healthcare Now revealed that roughly 57% of home health care workers (HHCW) have experienced some sort of violence working in their current agency. 

“A significant number of HHCWs face both physical and psychological harm while delivering patient care,” the study said. “They predominantly work alone and sometimes travel to unfamiliar neighborhoods, which increases the risk of WPV. Some settings where home health care services are rendered encounter greater rates of workplace violence (WPV). As a result, HHCWs may be exposed to risk of being mugged and their possessions stolen, or female workers could be sexually assaulted. Within the home, HHCWs could be exposed to hazards such as unrestrained pets or second-hand smoke exposures.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) describes workplace violence as “any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the worksite,” which the study clarifies can mean anything from verbal threats, verbal abuse, physical or sexual assault.

The participating agencies included two small agencies consisting of 25 to 100 employees, and five mid-size agencies with 100 to 500 employees. 

The results showed roughly 57% of home health care workers reported that they have experienced physical violence at least once at their current agency, while 37% said they experienced instances of verbal or emotional abuse on a daily basis. Another 20% of workers said they experienced monthly occurrences of physical violence. 

Also, every surveyed worker said they’ve experienced exposure to workplace violence at some point, but they did not report these incidents to the individual agencies’ management. All of the surveyed workers of the surveyed workers said while they knew their agencies had reporting policies in place, they still did not report the incidents. Forty percent of surveyed workers said management did not encourage reporting, and 33% said they did not feel comfortable going to management with their complaints. 

“A possible explanation is that management has instituted policies and reporting guidelines to fulfill corporate requirements without HHCWs buy-in,” the report said. “There also may be a concern about management retaliation or victim blaming when reporting WPV. There needs to be a culture change in organizations to encourage HHCWs to report WPV.”

Demographics also played a big role in the results. 

“Demographic results show a higher number of female respondents (80%) compared to male respondents (20%),” the report said. “This is expected, because there is a higher number of female employees than male employees in the home healthcare industry. Also, females are more likely to report work place violence incidents, because they are often a perceived easier target for offenders and are more likely to encounter sexual harassment.”

The report ended with a call for change in the home health industry with stricter policies regarding violence in the workplace and stronger protections for home health care workers. Although the primary role of the home health care agency is for the care for patients, protection of HHCW should be equal priority as ultimately, care will be impacted.

To read the full report, visit journals.lww.com.