By IDSE News Staff

From threats of violence against Anthony Fauci, MD, then director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infection Diseases, during the pandemic, to threats against Peter J. Hortez, MD, PhD, for trying to explain the usefulness of vaccinations, threats of violence are increasing against infectious disease doctiors. 

But a recent survey shows that the threat of violence is pervasive is not just aimed at ID docs, but is pervasive throughout the hospital, affecting more than 10% of all hospital staff in 2023—from physicians to cafeteria staff—and in every area of the hospital campus, according to data released by Canopy, a company that makes products to address workplace violence.

Last year, hospital staff triggered 22,000 alerts requesting immediate help with an emerging threat or active violence among 200,000 employees equipped with duress buttons created by Canopy. Although most of the alerts (40.5%) originated in emergency departments (EDs), nearly two-thirds happened in other areas of the hospital.

Based on data from more than 40 hospitals and health systems across 800 facilities in the United States, workers needed to use their duress buttons in incidents throughout every part of the hospital:

  • 40.5% originated in EDs;
  • 40.5% originated in inpatient and surgery-related areas (admitting, pre-op, post-op or anesthesia); and 
  • 19.0% originated everywhere else (ICUs, critical care units, behavioral health and non-patient areas).

In addition to location, the data revealed trends associated with days of the week, COVID-19 surges and holidays. Surprisingly, alerts were less frequent during weekends and holidays, despite being some of the busiest and often understaffed times for hospital EDs. The data showed:

  • 20% more incidents occurred on weekdays versus weekend days;
  • 12% fewer incidents took place during holidays than non-holiday periods; and
  • an 8% increase in incidents occurred during surges in COVID-19 (defined by ≥50% increase in hospital admissions).

Unexpectedly, Canopy also found a 9% increase in incidents during full moons, adding another data point to the persistent speculation among some healthcare staff that lunar phases affect patient and visitor behavior. 

Canopy's data are an aggregate view of duress button alerts in 2023 in the company’s sample. These data supports the findings of the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Workplace Violence in Healthcare” report, which showed that healthcare workers are five times more likely to experience workplace violence than any other industry.

Canopy, which sponsored the survey, manufactures duress buttons for threatened staff.