Work-Related Violence in the Minnesota Educators' Study: Perceptions of the Work Environment

Background Approximately 1.7 million non-fatal work-related violence events occur annually in the US. Employees at increased risk include Kindergarten – Grade 12 educators. This study analyzed associations between work environment perception of risk, corrective measures taken, and physical assault (PA) against educators. Methods A random sample of 26,000 educators was selected from a state license database and screened for eligibility (worked in the past year) by mailed questionnaire; 6,469 eligible educators responded. The case-control study (84% response) included 290 educators who experienced PA in the past year and 867 non-assaulted controls. Cases identified exposures one-month prior to PA; controls reported on a randomly selected month worked. Confounders were selected for multiple logistic regression analyses using directed acyclic graphs; re-weighting adjusted for potential biases. Results Educators reported perceptions about whether administrators, co-workers, and the educator (personally) expected PA to be a possible consequence of the job. Educators “agreed” or “strongly agreed” as follows: administration (cases, 41%, controls, 21%); coworkers (cases, 50%, controls, 24%); educators (cases, 61%, controls, 31%). Risk of PA (ORs; 95% CI) increased for educators who “strongly agreed,” versus “strongly disagreed”: 5.8 (3.0-11.1); 8.0 (4.1-15.6); and 9.1 (4.6-18.3), respectively. Over 81% of cases and 60% of controls reported they personally took corrective/preventive measures against PA; risk of PA increased for educators who “disagreed,” versus “agreed,” that administration took corrective action against PA (1.4, 0.9=2.1). Conclusions Retention and safety of licensed educators is important. Knowledge of risk factors and perceptions of the work environment will assist in tailoring effective intervention strategies.