Assault-related injuries are preventable. Only physical injuries are treated; all employees who have been verbally or physically assaulted should be referred for post-incident debriefing. Hospital managers should implement violence-prevention programs. The ecological, occupational health framework is useful for identifying factors that contribute to assault.

The purpose of this study was to explore contributing factors, consequences, and solutions to assault of long-term care personnel. The study sample consisted of three focus groups composed of certified nursing assistants and administrators employed in long-term care facilities within a large Midwestern city. Using content analysis methodology, multiple themes emerged: worker attitude, vulnerability, work culture, job tasks, training, working short-staffed, financial concerns, changes in social values and health care, community crime, substance abuse, accepting assaults, coworker threats, issues of retaliation, professional withdrawal, and inability to share experiences. Preventive measures suggested by the participants are consistent with those recommended by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Implications for staff and administrators include both personal and workplace strategies. Recommendations include implementing more comprehensive violence prevention programs that includes conflict management and training tailored to the type of residents.

Using data from police records, this study examined risk factors related to 940 workplace homicides occurring in Chicago between 1965 and 1990. Black men were predominantly both victims (49%) and offenders (75%). The median age for victims was 42 years, but only 25 years for offenders. Women (40%) were more likely than men (6 %) to be killed by intimates. Firearms were involved in 83 % of all homicides, and robbery was the primary motive (62%). Workplace homicides occurred most frequently in taverns (22%). Alcohol use by tavern workers was involved in 48% of the homicides. Wide disparity in the number of workplace homicides occurred in Chicago's 77 community areas. Strategies to deter robbery and alcohol use, as well as to prevent domestic violence in the workplace, need to be implemented and evaluated. Occupational health nurses playa pivotal role in effective violence prevention. V iolence, in both the workplace and the community, is a growing public health concern, as well as a criminal justice problem of concern to occupation

H omicide at work is an emerging concern for occupational health nurses. Approximately 42% of fatal occupational injuries for women are due to murder, compared to 11% for men (CDC, 1990). Between 1980 and 1985, murder on the job was the leading cause of fatal injuries for women, compared to the third leading cause for men. During this period, workplace homicide of women accounted for 25,787 years of potential life lost (CDC, 1990). Any worker, especially if involved with exchange of money, is a potential victim of a violent act. The leading causes of the estimated annual 7,000 fatal injuries of men and women at work are motor vehicle injuries, machine related injuries, and homicide (CDC, 1990). However, because the homicide rate for men generally is higher and their participation in the work force is greater

omicide is the leading cause of fatal occupational injuries for women and accounts for 39 % of all fatal injuries for women at work. Using medical examiner and coroner reports, this study analyzed female workplace homicides in three counties within metropolitan Chicago from 1984 to 1990. These workplace homicides were compared to non-workplace homicides of women. There were 1,354 female homicides; of the 17 workplace homicides, all occurred in Cook County. The annual rate of female occupational homicides was higher (1.5110 5) for Cook County, while for the metropolitan Chicago area (Cook, DuPage, and Lake counties) it was