Violence towards emergency nurses: A narrative review of theories and frameworks

Introduction: Workplace Violence in the health environment is a growing issue worldwide. Emergency department have been identified as a high-risk setting for Workplace Violence and emergency nurses are most exposed to this phenomenon. To address workplace violence in the ED effectively, it is critical to understand frameworks established in the literature to assist in development of appropriate interventions and corrective measures. An overview of available theories of violence towards emergency nurses in the literature is presented herein in the format of a narrative review. Methods: A search of international literature on WPV theories was conducted in three databases: PubMed, CINAHL, Scopus, and Proquest Central. Articles concerning theories that have direct implications for patient-related violence (client-on-worker Type 2 Violence) in the emergency department were sought. Results: Four hundred and fifty-nine articles were found. Applying established inclusion and exclusion criteria, fourteen of these were included in the review. In the international literature there are 24 theories and frameworks pertaining to violence towards nurses in the emergency department which describe different intervention strategies based on these. Discussion: Both the theories on violence developed by nurses and those derived from other disciplines are complex and many key elements are invariably intertwined. Understanding such theories might be useful to manage violence towards emergency nurses with greater effectiveness.