Workplace Violence in Healthcare: Prevention Strategies and Mental Health Consequences

Workplace violence (WPV) is a growing crisis in healthcare, with frontline workers—including physicians, nurses, mental health professionals, and support staff—facing escalating threats, verbal aggression, and physical assaults. The prevalence of WPV has been linked to increasing patient acuity, healthcare system strain, and understaffing, leaving many workers vulnerable to psychological distress, burnout, moral injury, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Despite heightened awareness, existing WPV prevention measures remain inconsistent across healthcare settings. While de-escalation training, trauma-informed care models, and policy reforms have shown promise, significant gaps remain in implementation, evaluation, and sustainability. The mental health impact of WPV also remains underexamined, particularly in relation to long-term coping mechanisms, retention, and the effectiveness of psychological interventions. In addition, mental health-related prevention strategies for workplace violence in healthcare are scarce.

This Research Topic seeks to advance research on WPV in healthcare by integrating insights from psychiatry, occupational health, and healthcare policy to improve prevention strategies and mitigate mental health consequences among healthcare professionals. We invite original research articles, systematic reviews, case reports, and theoretical perspectives focused on workplace violence in healthcare. Relevant topics include, but are not limited to:

• the mental health consequences of WPV: PTSD, burnout, depression, anxiety, moral injury, and suicidality among healthcare professionals exposed to WPV and the impact on workforce retention and job satisfaction

• prevention and intervention strategies: the effectiveness of trauma-informed care, de-escalation training, environmental design, security interventions, and organizational policies in reducing WPV

• systemic and organizational factors: how leadership, hospital culture, staffing models, and regulatory frameworks influence WPV incidence and response

• technology for WPV prevention: digital interventions, immersive virtual reality, wearable safety technology, real-time reporting systems, use of AI in preventive efforts, and predictive analytics to mitigate WPV risks

• evidence-based policy recommendations: insights for hospital administrators, policymakers, and health system leaders to enhance WPV prevention strategies and mental health support for affected professionals, considering legal and ethical factors.

Submissions should provide empirical insights, innovative frameworks, or policy recommendations that contribute to a comprehensive understanding of WPV in healthcare. We welcome interdisciplinary contributions from psychiatry, psychology, criminology, sociology, healthcare administration, health policy, and public health.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Brief Research Report
• Case Report
• Classification
• Clinical Trial
• Community Case Study
• Conceptual Analysis
• Curriculum, Instruction, and Pedagogy
• Data Report
• Editorial
• FAIR² Data
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Policy Brief
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: de-escalation training, hospital security and safety, trauma-informed care, occupational violence, aggression, burnout, moral injury, occupational psychiatry, workplace violence, healthcare, mental health, trauma, workforce wellbeing

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.