Clinical trial NCT06933433: Assaults Against Health Care Professionals in a Tertiary Intensive Care Unit
Official title: A Retrospective Analysis of Assaults Against Health Care Professionals in a Tertiary Intensive Care Unit
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: ACTIVE_NOT_RECRUITING
Conditions: Assault
Keywords: Workplace violence
Intensive care unit
Lead sponsor: University Hospital, Basel, Switzerland
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2025-04-18
Enrollment: 865
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 18
Standard ages: ADULT
OLDER_ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: COHORT
Time perspective: RETROSPECTIVE
Sampling method: PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: All consecutive adult patients (i.e.≥ 18 years of age) with a reported incident of physical, verbal or sexual violence in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital Basel from January 1st 2011 until end of June 2024 as documented in the digital medical records.

Brief summary: This study aims to investigate the occurrence of workplace violence, both physical, verbal, and sexual assaults, from patients and their relatives towards intensive care unit staff members.

Detailed description: Workplace violence, as defined by the International Labor Organization, includes any action, incident, or behavior that assaults, threatens, harms, or injures a person during their work. Healthcare workers face the highest risk of workplace violence among all professions. Violence can take many forms, including verbal abuse, physical offenses to sexual harassment. While most research focuses on psychiatric and emergency departments, workplace violence in intensive care units (ICUs) is understudied and often underreported.

As a result, little is known about its prevalence and risk factors, leading to a lack of awareness and effective prevention strategies. The aim of this retrospective single-center cohort study is to investigate the occurrence of workplace violence, both physical, verbal, and sexual assaults, from patients and their relatives towards ICU staff members. The study will assess the frequency, characteristics, and circumstances of these events in an intensive care setting. Additionally, the consequences of such incidents and the measures taken afterward will be examined. This analysis aims to identify potential risk factors and possible targets for intervention, ultimately contributing to the development and implementation of protocols that enhance the safety of both healthcare professionals and patients.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* ≥ 18 years of age
* Reported incident of physical, verbal or sexual violence in the intensive care unit at the University Hospital Basel

Exclusion Criteria:

None defined.

Primary outcomes:
measure: Demographic information
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Acute prehospital management data
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Duration of intensive care unit stay
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Duration of hospital stay
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Discharge destination
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Date of assault
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Characteristics of assault
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Type of assault
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Additional features of the assault
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Patient characteristics
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Consequences of the assault
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Neurological status based on validated clinical assessment
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Critical illness severity score
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Charlson Comorbidity Index
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Laboratory parameters
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Glasgow Outcome Score
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Therapeutic intervention
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Vital signs
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
measure: Fluid balance data
timeFrame: 2011-06/2024
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Basel
country: Switzerland
facility: University Hospital Base, Intensive Care Unit
state: Basel-Stadt
Study officials:
affiliation: University Hospital Basel, Department of Acute Medicine, Intensive Care Unit
name: Raoul Sutter, Prof. Dr. med.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: