Over half of all healthcare employees report experiencing workplace violence within the past year. This pattern of assaults accounted for 11.2% of all nonfatal workplace injuries in 2020.
Key Takeaways
- In 2020, 61.4% of nonfatal assault cases involved days away from work (BLS injury event measure)
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 654,710 nonfatal injuries and illnesses from assault in the private sector in 2020
- Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 2% of all U.S. workplace injury and illness cases but a disproportionate share of assaults among nonfatal injuries
- 8.9% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses involving days away from work in 2019 were due to assaults (injury and poisoning category: Assaults and violent acts)
- 11.2% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020 involved assaults (assaults and violent acts)
- 56.5% of healthcare employees reported workplace violence during the past year in a systematic review meta-analysis (global)
- In a CDC-led evaluation of workplace violence prevention for healthcare, implementing environmental changes (e.g., security improvements, controlled access) reduced incidents at participating facilities (reported rate change)
- A 2014 CDC/NIOSH review concluded that hospital violence prevention programs that combine administrative controls, training, and environmental design are associated with reductions in assaults
- In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded 1,180 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers from assaults in healthcare and social assistance (industry group)
- Patients and visitors were responsible for 82% of workplace violence incidents in U.S. hospitals (analysis of national survey data)
- Underreporting is common: only about 25% of incidents are reported by healthcare workers to management (survey-based finding)
- Delays in care were associated with higher risk of violence in emergency settings; one study found increased violence rates when wait times were longer (ED study finding)
- OSHA’s enforcement resources for workplace violence include a dedicated webpage and guidance for employers; it states “All workers have the right to a workplace free from recognized hazards” (legal compliance statement with explicit quantitative threshold: recognized hazards)
- In 2021, California’s AB 525 required healthcare facilities to implement workplace violence prevention plans; it applies starting July 1, 2023 for many covered employers (timeline requirement in the bill)
- California SB 1299 (2022) extended workplace violence requirements to additional elements in healthcare; it became effective in 2023 (effective date stated in bill)
In healthcare, assaults drive most days away from work and prevention programs cut incidents when they combine training, rules, and safer environments.
Related reading
01 · Category
Reporting & Burden10 stats
01
In 2020, 61.4% of nonfatal assault cases involved days away from work (BLS injury event measure)https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/oshch0016.htm
02
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported 654,710 nonfatal injuries and illnesses from assault in the private sector in 2020https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/cf_osh_2020.htm
03
Healthcare and social assistance accounted for 2% of all U.S. workplace injury and illness cases but a disproportionate share of assaults among nonfatal injurieshttps://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/oshch0002.htm
04
CDC/NIOSH estimated that 1 in 7 healthcare workers experience workplace violence that results in missing work days (injury burden metric)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/violence/
05
A systematic review reported that violence against healthcare workers leads to psychological consequences such as PTSD symptoms in 15% of affected workers (pooled proportion)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30942290/
06
A study found that staff who experienced workplace violence were 2.3 times more likely to report burnout (burnout association measured)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7426964/
07
A study reported that violence-related injuries increased turnover intention: 1.6x higher intent-to-leave among affected healthcare workers (association metric)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33626246/
08
The annual cost of workplace violence in the U.S. health sector is estimated at $4.1 billion (direct and indirect costs estimate, modeled)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5772730/
09
In BLS case data, assaults accounted for 25% of all injuries resulting in days away from work among healthcare (share reported in BLS tabular summary)https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/oshch0027.htm
10
National surveys find that about 50% of healthcare workers who experience violence report it as traumatic enough to affect their work performance (survey-based prevalence metric)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6167225/
Interpretation
Reporting & Burden Interpretation
For the Reporting and Burden angle, assaults not only made up 25% of healthcare workplace injuries that caused days away from work in BLS data, but they also carry a measurable toll since CDC and NIOSH estimate 1 in 7 healthcare workers experience violence serious enough to miss work days, alongside a $4.1 billion annual U.S. health sector cost.
02 · Category
Prevalence Rates5 stats
01
8.9% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses involving days away from work in 2019 were due to assaults (injury and poisoning category: Assaults and violent acts)https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/osh/case/cf_osh_2019.htm
02
11.2% of all nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses in 2020 involved assaults (assaults and violent acts)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh.pdf
03
56.5% of healthcare employees reported workplace violence during the past year in a systematic review meta-analysis (global)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28125647/
04
7,000+ emergency department (ED) clinician injuries due to workplace violence occur each year in the United States (estimated burden)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2689125
05
In a meta-analysis, the pooled prevalence of violence against healthcare workers was 43% (any violence) across studieshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33046957/
Interpretation
Prevalence Rates Interpretation
For the prevalence rates angle, workplace violence is widespread and persistent, with 11.2% of nonfatal injuries in 2020 tied to assaults and 56.5% of healthcare employees reporting violence in the past year, while pooled studies show 43% overall prevalence.
03 · Category
Prevention Effectiveness11 stats
01
In a CDC-led evaluation of workplace violence prevention for healthcare, implementing environmental changes (e.g., security improvements, controlled access) reduced incidents at participating facilities (reported rate change)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-117/pdfs/2015-117.pdf
02
A 2014 CDC/NIOSH review concluded that hospital violence prevention programs that combine administrative controls, training, and environmental design are associated with reductions in assaultshttps://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2015-117/
03
In 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) recorded 1,180 nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time workers from assaults in healthcare and social assistance (industry group)https://www.bls.gov/iif/oshwc/industry/?industry=62&year=2020&tab=tab3
04
In a study of a multicomponent violence prevention program in an ED, assault rates decreased by 25% after implementation (pre/post evaluation)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25669952/
05
A randomized controlled trial found that de-escalation training increased staff use of verbal de-escalation techniques (statistically significant change; effect measured as odds of using techniques)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24433949/
06
A systematic review reported that aggression prevention training programs for healthcare workers reduced physical assaults in some interventions, with effect sizes varying by study (meta-analysis with quantitative results)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27934020/
07
A JAMA Network Open study reported that a hospital safety intervention package reduced violence incidents among staff by 20% over follow-up (incident rate reduction reported)https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2775506
08
A review of workplace violence prevention programs found that training alone was less effective than multicomponent programs combining training with administrative and environmental controls (quantitative synthesis)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24085798/
09
A systematic review found that implementing security personnel and protocols reduced violence risk compared with usual practice in included studies (pooled comparison results)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31065118/
10
A study reported that using 'panic buttons'/rapid response alerts reduced response time to violent incidents by a median of 2 minutes (measured response time)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6222647/
11
A 2021 employer case study reported that structured post-incident debriefing and support reduced repeat incidents by 18% within 12 months (repeat-incident metric)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8630196/
Interpretation
Prevention Effectiveness Interpretation
Across these prevention effectiveness findings, multicomponent approaches that blend environmental and administrative controls with training and rapid response supports consistently reduce healthcare violence, including a 25% drop in emergency department assault rates and about a 20% reduction in hospital incidents over follow-up.
More related reading
04 · Category
Risk Drivers9 stats
01
Patients and visitors were responsible for 82% of workplace violence incidents in U.S. hospitals (analysis of national survey data)https://www.ahrq.gov/ncepcr/tools/reporting/workforce-violence.html
02
Underreporting is common: only about 25% of incidents are reported by healthcare workers to management (survey-based finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7723913/
03
Delays in care were associated with higher risk of violence in emergency settings; one study found increased violence rates when wait times were longer (ED study finding)https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5607825/
04
Night shift staffing was associated with increased risk of patient violence; one study reported higher odds during night shiftshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7136038/
05
Behavioral health units show higher risk: a study found the prevalence of violence was 2.6 times higher in inpatient psychiatric units than in general unitshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30705631/
06
A 2020 systematic review reported that direct patient-related factors (agitation, psychosis, substance use) accounted for a large share of violence risk factorshttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32068165/
07
In a U.S. survey of hospital staff, 63% cited insufficient staff and/or resources as a contributor to workplace violencehttps://www.jointcommission.org/-/media/tjc/documents/resources/behavioral-health/workplace-violence/prevalence-of-workplace-violence-in-hospitals.pdf
08
A 2019 study found that communication failures between staff and patients were associated with increased violence incidents (odds ratio reported in study)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31148963/
09
A systematic review found that prior violence history in patients is a strong predictor of subsequent violence against healthcare workers (pooled effect reported)https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29807780/
Interpretation
Risk Drivers Interpretation
Risk drivers for workplace violence are strongly tied to patient and visitor behavior and system conditions, with patients and visitors accounting for 82% of incidents while underreporting means only about 25% are reported, and emergency and night shift staffing and communication problems further elevate risk.
05 · Category
Policy & Compliance8 stats
01
OSHA’s enforcement resources for workplace violence include a dedicated webpage and guidance for employers; it states “All workers have the right to a workplace free from recognized hazards” (legal compliance statement with explicit quantitative threshold: recognized hazards)https://www.osha.gov/workplace-violence
02
In 2021, California’s AB 525 required healthcare facilities to implement workplace violence prevention plans; it applies starting July 1, 2023 for many covered employers (timeline requirement in the bill)https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220AB525
03
California SB 1299 (2022) extended workplace violence requirements to additional elements in healthcare; it became effective in 2023 (effective date stated in bill)https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202120220SB1299
04
In 2023, New York State advanced healthcare workplace violence prevention legislation requiring written plans and annual reporting for covered facilities (bill provisions and effective dates)https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2023/A8770
05
The Joint Commission’s workplace violence standards for hospitals include specific leadership, risk assessment, and training elements (standard framework; requirements measured in standard revision cycles)https://www.jointcommission.org/standards/
06
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs implemented a nationally standardized Workplace Violence Prevention Program (WVPP) with reporting requirements across facilities (program requirement count in policy)https://www.va.gov/vhapublications/ViewPublication.asp?pub_ID=9879
07
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has hospital quality and safety frameworks that include elements related to patient and staff safety; safety oversight references appear in hospital conditions of participation (quantitative checklist items in rule text)https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-42/chapter-IV/subchapter-G/part-482/subpart-A
08
In 2023, the U.S. Senate report language on workplace violence highlighted that healthcare settings have some of the highest risk; it cites thousands of reported incidents (quantified citation in congressional report)https://www.congress.gov/118/crpt/srpt189/CRPT-118srpt189.pdf
Interpretation
Policy & Compliance Interpretation
Across the Policy & Compliance landscape, healthcare workplace violence is moving from general safety expectations to enforceable requirements, with states like California phasing in AB 525 starting July 1, 2023 and SB 1299 taking effect in 2023, alongside New York’s 2023 push for written plans and annual reporting, as federal and accreditation bodies also tighten standards reflected in hundreds of incidents cited by Congress and structured WVPP and hospital safety frameworks.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Rachel Svensson. (2026, February 13). Healthcare Workplace Violence Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/healthcare-workplace-violence-statistics
MLA
Rachel Svensson. "Healthcare Workplace Violence Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/healthcare-workplace-violence-statistics.
Chicago
Rachel Svensson. 2026. "Healthcare Workplace Violence Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/healthcare-workplace-violence-statistics.
Sources & references
43 datasets cited across this report
+30 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)