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176673 Occupational Physical Assault and Violence Prevention Training: The Minnesota Educators' Study

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 8:45 AM

Nancy M. Nachreiner, PhD, MPH , Reg Inj Prev Res Center/Center Violence Prev and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Susan G. Gerberich, PhD , MCOHS/RIRRC/CVPC, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Andrew D. Ryan, MS , Regional Injury Prevention Research Center, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Patricia M. McGovern, PhD, MPH , Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Denise M. Feda, PhD , Reg Inj Prev Res Center/Center Violence Prev and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Starr K. Sage, MPH , Reg Inj Prev Res Center/Center Violence Prev and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Mindy S. Geisser, MS , Reg Inj Prev Res Center/Center Violence Prev and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Timothy R. Church, PhD , Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Gavin D. Watt, BS , Reg Inj Prev Res Center/Center Violence Prev and Control, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Steven J. Mongin, MS , Regional Injury Prevention Research Center, Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN
Introduction

Recent events heightened awareness of school violence affecting educators. Previously, the focus had been on students, not teachers.

Methods

Data were analyzed from a population-based study of 26,000 randomly selected Minnesota educators. 6469 were eligible and contacted in study Phase 1 to determine violent events. In Phase 2 (case-control study), cases (n=299 reporting physical assault in previous year) and controls n=(867, no events) provided exposure information for the month prior to assault, and randomly selected months, respectively. Directed acyclic graphs were used to select confounders for multiple regression analyses.

Results

Response for each study phase was 84%. Cases and controls, respectively, reported being trained about the following ten topics by their current employer/school: resolving conflicts (55%, 54%); using appropriate restraining techniques (55%, 27%); reporting work-related physical assault (54%, 50%); preventing bullying (53%, 58%); reporting work-related harassment (52%, 52%); managing threats/assaults (51%, 44%); recognizing risk factors for violence (50%, 41%); having a violence prevention policy (49%, 37%); using self-defense (29%, 12%); and operating safety alarms or devices (20%, 22%). The majority of cases and controls received one-two sessions of violence prevention training in the past year (60%, 56%) for primarily less than five hours (cases, 37%; controls, 46%). Preliminary multivariate analyses indicated that those trained to use appropriate restraint techniques had an increased risk of physical assault (OR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.08-2.59).

Conclusions

Empirical evidence on the efficacy of training on violence prevention is lacking. These data are critical to understand the association of training and physical assault of educators.

Learning Objectives:
Learning Objectives: 1) Identify major topics for work-related violence prevention training for Minnesota educators. 2) Identify the location and duration of violence prevention training educators in this study reported in the previous year. 3) Identify trends on the association of training on the outcome of physical assault for this population.

Keywords: Violence, School Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was the project director for the MES, and analyzed the impact of training.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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