A Survey of Workplace Violence in a New Zealand Emergency Department—Is the Current Reporting System Working? A Short Report

Katherine Corney; Zoë Neilson; Nikita Brazil; Brad Peckler; Alice Rogan

doi:10.1111/1742-6723.70223

February 1, 2026Emergency Medicine AustralasiaOpen Access

A Survey of Workplace Violence in a New Zealand Emergency Department—Is the Current Reporting System Working? A Short Report

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Share

Key Points

The study aims to review incidents of workplace violence in the emergency department and assess the effectiveness of the current reporting system.
Conducted a prospective electronic survey for workplace violence incidents in the emergency department.
Gathered data from respondents regarding their experiences of workplace violence.
Analyzed the discrepancy between reported incidents and formal reports.
Ninety respondents reported experiencing workplace violence, significantly higher than the 45 formal reports submitted.
Most incidents were reported by nurses and were verbal attacks by patients.
Nearly 20% of staff considered leaving the emergency department following these incidents.

Ask about this paper

Answers are grounded in this paper and cite their sources.

Implication

Survey examines workplace violence in the emergency department, indicating underreporting and staff retention concerns.

Abstract

Objective The ED workforce experiences high levels of workplace violence (WPV), but data is often poorly captured. This study aimed to review WPV incidents and rates of formal reporting. Methods Prospective electronic QR survey of WPV incidents in ED. Results Ninety respondents reported WPV incidents in ED, compared to 45 formal reports. Most WPV cases reported by nurses were from patients and were verbal in nature. Concerningly, almost 1/5 were considering leaving the ED after the WPV incident. Conclusion WPV is a significant, ongoing, underreported issue in ED that harms staff well‐being and threatens the retention of the future workforce.

Discussion

No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.

Cite This Study

Corney et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/698828010fc35cd7a88471e3 https://doi.org/10.1111/1742-6723.70223

View Full Paper

Ask AI

Bookmark

Share

A Survey of Workplace Violence in a New Zealand Emergency Department—Is the Current Reporting System Working? A Short Report

Key Points

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

A Survey of Workplace Violence in a New Zealand Emergency Department—Is the Current Reporting System Working? A Short Report

Key Points

Ask about this paper

Implication

Abstract

Discussion

Cite This Study

Keep reading

Keep reading