Written violence policies and risk of physical assault against Minnesota educators

Denise M. Feda, Susan G Gerberich, Andrew Ryan, Nancy M. Nachreiner, Patricia M McGovern

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Scopus citations

Abstract

Few research studies on school violence policies use quantitative methods to evaluate the impact of policies on workplace violence. This study analyzed nine different written violence policies and their impact on work-related physical assault in educational settings. Data were from the Minnesota Educators Study. This large, nested case control study included cases (n = 372) who reported physical assaults within the last year, and controls (n = 1116) who did not. Multivariate logistic regression analyses, using directed acyclic graphs, estimated risk of assault. Results of the adjusted multivariate model suggested decreased risks of physical assault were associated with the presence of policies regarding how to report sexual harassment, verbal abuse, and threat (OR 0.53; 95 per cent CI: 0.30-0.95); assurance of confidential reporting of events (OR 0.67; 95 per cent CI: 0.44-1.04); and zero tolerance for violence (OR 0.70; 95 per cent CI: 0.47-1.04).

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)461-477
Number of pages17
JournalJournal of Public Health Policy
Volume31
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2010

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Support for this research was provided, in part, by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services (R01 OH007816); Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH Training Grant Number T42 OH008434); Center for Violence Prevention and Control, University of Minnesota; and Regional Injury Prevention Research Center, University of Minnesota. The contents of this effort are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official view of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention or other associated entities. The authors acknowledge the Minnesota Educators’ Study research team, the Advisory Consulting Team of educators, Dr Bruce Alexander, and participating educators.

Keywords

  • Zero tolerance policies
  • injury
  • policy analysis
  • workplace violence

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