Why 80% of incidents of workplace violence go unreported

In March 2024, leaders from the American Nurses Association (ANA), the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) and the American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) pushed for the passage of legislation to mitigate workplace violence in health care settings. In their Capitol Hill pitch, they cited a 2019 ANA report that found that as many as 80% of cases of workplace violence in health care go unreported.

In a conversation with Medical Economics, Andrea Greco, SVP of healthcare safety at CENTEGIX, referenced this same statistic. Greco explained why so many cases go unreported, detailing common barriers to incident reporting in health care settings.