Workplace violence prevention

Every nurse deserves a safe workplace in which to provide care.

Overview

Nurses should not have to risk their personal safety to do their jobs of delivering quality patient care.

Yet, nurse abuse and violence against nurses is a growing problem across the nation. According to the American Nurses Association, 1 in 4 nurses has been assaulted at work. The likelihood of health care workers being exposed to violence is higher than prison guards or police officers.

We advocate for stronger workplace violence protection laws at the state level and partner with ANA on efforts to raise awareness and implement better policies at the federal level.

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Legislation and Policy

We work with state legislators to ensure the strongest possible protections for nurses.

2025 update to workplace violence prevention in health care

The 2025 law concerning workplace violence in health care settings strengthens workplace violence provisions related to incident investigation, required incident summary reports with analysis, and use of incident data to update facility workplace violence prevention plans at least once per year.

Read about the law

To learn more about what’s going on at the federal level, visit the American Nurses Association’s #EndNurseAbuse page.

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Research and Resources

Government agencies and organizations at the state and federal levels have researched and developed best practices for addressing violence in the workplace. We’ve gathered the most useful resources to help you understand the issue, advocate for safer workplaces and protect yourselves.

Learn more

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