@article{ref1,
title="Hazard flagging as a risk mitigation strategy for violence against emergency medical services",
journal="Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland)",
year="2024",
author="Mausz, Justin and Piquette, Dan and Bradford, Robert and Johnston, Mandy and Batt, Alan M. and Donnelly, Elizabeth A.",
volume="12",
number="9",
pages="-",
abstract="Paramedics are increasingly being subjected to violence, creating the potential for significant physical and psychological harm. Where a patient has a history of violent behavior, hazard flags-applied either to the individual, their residential address, or phone number-can alert paramedics to the possibility of violence, potentially reducing the risk of injury. Leveraging a novel violence reporting process embedded in the electronic patient care record, we reviewed violence reports filed over a thirteen-month period since its inception in February 2021 to assess the effectiveness of hazard flagging as a potential risk mitigation strategy. Upon reviewing a report, paramedic supervisors can generate a hazard flag if recurrent violent behavior from the patient is anticipated. In all, 502 violence reports were filed, for which paramedic supervisors generated hazard flags in 20% of cases (n = 99). In general, cases were not flagged either because the incident occurred at a location not amenable to flagging or because the supervisors felt that a hazard flag was not warranted based on the details in the report. Hazard flagging was associated with an increased risk of violence during subsequent paramedic attendance (Odds Ratio [OR] 6.21, p < 0.001). Nevertheless, the process appears to reliably identify persons who may be violent towards paramedics.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="2227-9032",
doi="10.3390/healthcare12090909",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12090909"
}