Internet Training for Nurse Aides to Prevent Resident Aggression

Violence and assaults by residents against staff or other residents in the long-term care system are a major public health concern. Direct care workers in long-term care facilities (LTCs) are the workers at highest risk to suffer from workplace violence (eg, grabs, chokes, hair pulls, kicks, hits, bites) and injury as a result of interactions with residents. Aggressive behavior in the form of threats, harassment, and assaults by residents often occurs daily in LTCs and is widely accepted as part of the job by nurse aides (NAs). Aggressive resident behaviors can take a physical and emotional toll on both NAs and residents, affecting the quality of care provided, and potentially making workers more prone to aggressive responses toward residents. The frequency of assaults has been poorly documented, but in a recent study, 138 NAs reported an average of 4.69 assaults during 80 hours of work with a range of 0 to 67 assaults. Morgan et al reported that 73.4% of NAs in LTCs reported having been physically assaulted in the previous 12 months. The Occupa-