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perpetrators. ■ Discuss the circumstances of the incident with staff members. Encourage employees to share information about ways to avoid similar situations in the future. ■ Offer stress debriefing sessions and posttraumatic counseling services to help workers recover from a violent incident. ■ Investigate all violent incidents and threats, monitor trends in violent incidents by type or circumstance, and institute corrective actions. ■ Discuss changes in the program during regular employee meetings. What protections does OSHA offer? The Occupational Safety and Health Act’s (OSH Act) General Duty Clause requires employers to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all workers covered by the OSH Act. Employers who do not take reasonable steps to prevent or abate a recognized violence hazard in the workplace can be cited. Failure to implement suggestions in this fact sheet, however, is not in itself a violation of the General Duty Clause. How can you get more information? OSHA has various publications, standards, technical assistance, and compliance tools to help you, and offers extensive assistance through its many safety and health programs: workplace consultation, voluntary protection programs, grants, strategic partnerships, state plans, training, and education. Guidance such as OSHA’s Safety and Health Management Program Guidelines identify elements that are critical to the development of a successful safety and health management system. This and other information are available on OSHA’s website at www.osha.gov. ■ For a free copy of OSHA publications, send a self-addressed mailing label to this address: OSHA Publications Office, P.O. Box 37535, Washington, DC 20013-7535; or send a request to our fax at (202) 693-2498, or call us at (202) 693-1888. ■ To file a complaint by phone, report an emergency, or get OSHA advice, assistance, or products, contact your nearest OSHA office under the “U.S. Department of Labor” listing in your phone book, or call us toll-free at (800) 321-OSHA (6742). The teletypewriter (TTY) number is (877) 889-5627. ■ To file a complaint online or obtain more information on OSHA federal and state programs, visit OSHA’s website. Overview of the Guidelines Healthcare and social service workers face significant risks of job-related violence and it is OSHA’s mission to help employers address these serious hazards. This publication updates OSHA’s 1996 and 2004 voluntary guidelines for preventing workplace violence for healthcare and social service workers. OSHA’s violence prevention guidelines are based on industry best practices and feedback from stakeholders, and provide recommendations for developing policies and procedures to eliminate or reduce workplace violence in a range of healthcare and social service settings. These guidelines reflect the variations that exist in different settings and incorporate the latest and most effective ways to reduce the risk of violence in the workplace. Workplace setting determines not only the types of hazards that exist, but also the measures that will be available and appropriate to reduce or eliminate workplace violence hazards. For the purpose of these guidelines, we have identified five different settings: ■ Hospital settings represent large institutional medical facilities; ■ Residential Treatment settings include institutional facilities such as nursing homes, and other long-term care facilities; ■ Non-residential Treatment/Service settings include small neighborhood clinics and mental health centers; ■ Community Care settings include community-based residential facilities and group homes; and ■ Field work settings include home healthcare workers or social workers who make home visits. Indeed, these guidelines are intended to cover a broad spectrum of workers, including those in: psychiatric facilities, hospital emergency departments, community mental health clinics, drug abuse treatment centers, pharmacies, community-care centers, and long-term care facilities. Healthcare and social service workers covered by these guidelines include: registered nurses, nurses’ aides, therapists, technicians, home healthcare workers, Occupational Safety and Health Administration 2 social workers, emergency medical care
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