Journal of Urgent Care Medicine

Pandemic Fears Sparked Hundreds of Attacks on Health Workers

Between January 2020 to January 2023, 18 healthcare workers were killed and another 147 were injured in incidents related to the global COVID-19 pandemic, according to findings published in Health Security. In addition, 33 workers were kidnapped, and more than 100 other incidents involved damage to facilities. Sadly, workplace violence is common in the healthcare setting, the authors note, and the published study aimed to identify incidents specifically related to the pandemic—such as aggression against …

Nearly Half of Nurses Say There’s More Violence in the Workplace Now

Across the healthcare industry, workers are experiencing a surge in violence, much of it first instigated by the widespread fear and frustration everyone felt during the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a new survey from National Nurses United (NNU), a majority of nurses have encountered workplace violence with 45.5% reporting rates have actually increased in the past year. Among respondents, 81.6% experienced at least one type of workplace violence in 2023. The most common forms of …