Examining the scope and characteristics of workplace violence prevention training for healthcare workers: a scoping review protocol
4 affiliations
- 1Université du Québec en Outaouais, Gatineau, Québec, Canada
- 2Université de Sherbrooke, Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
- 3Université TELUQ, Montréal, Québec, Canada
- 4Université du Québec à Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Abstract
Introduction Workplace violence represents a major challenge in healthcare settings, where workers are regularly exposed to various forms of aggression. The consequences for workers and organisations are substantial, affecting workers’ psychological and physical health, quality of care, job satisfaction and work retention. Among prevention strategies, training is often offered, yet its overall effectiveness remains difficult to establish due to limited evaluation, scarce high-quality evidence and significant variability across programmes. Moreover, existing literature often appears to focus on specific professional groups or a particular care context, limiting the generalisability of findings. This scoping review seeks to map the available evidence on training aimed at preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings. Its objective is to describe the characteristics of existing studies, identify methodological and conceptual gaps, and identify directions for future research that may contribute to improving workplace violence prevention training practices.Methods and analysis This scoping review will consider evidence relating to workplace violence training programmes offered to healthcare personnel. All types of primary studies, using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodologies, will be considered. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Searches will be conducted in ABI/INFORM Collection, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Emerald Insight, CINAHL Plus and MEDLINE as well as selected public search engines. Studies published in English and French, with no date restriction, will be eligible. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts and full texts, with disagreements resolved through discussion or consultation with a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using a standardised extraction form covering study characteristics, training interventions and effectiveness outcomes. Findings will be synthesised descriptively and presented in tables and concept maps to identify research trends, methodological characteristics and knowledge gaps.Ethics and dissemination This scoping review represents the preliminary phase of a larger project aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training programmes in healthcare settings. It will use published literature available in the public domain and will involve no participants; therefore, ethical approval is not required. The findings of the proposed review will be published in peer-reviewed journals relevant to the topic and will be presented at associated conferences. In addition, results will be disseminated to associations or networks of healthcare managers and administrators through various channels.
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BibTeX
@article{tremblay2026examining,
title = {{Examining the scope and characteristics of workplace violence prevention training for healthcare workers: a scoping review protocol}},
author = {Véronic Tremblay and Melodie Côté Hinse and Anne Renée Gravel and Sophie Meunier and Caroline Nicolas and Isabelle St-Pierre and Martin Lauzier},
journal = {BMJ Open},
year = {2026},
month = nov,
doi = {10.1136/bmjopen-2026-122318},
url = {https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-122318},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Examining the scope and characteristics of workplace violence prevention training for healthcare workers: a scoping review protocol
AU - Véronic Tremblay
AU - Melodie Côté Hinse
AU - Anne Renée Gravel
AU - Sophie Meunier
AU - Caroline Nicolas
AU - Isabelle St-Pierre
AU - Martin Lauzier
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/11/05
JO - BMJ Open
DO - 10.1136/bmjopen-2026-122318
UR - https://bmjopen.bmj.com/lookup/doi/10.1136/bmjopen-2026-122318
AB - Introduction Workplace violence represents a major challenge in healthcare settings, where workers are regularly exposed to various forms of aggression. The consequences for workers and organisations are substantial, affecting workers’ psychological and physical health, quality of care, job satisfaction and work retention. Among prevention strategies, training is often offered, yet its overall effectiveness remains difficult to establish due to limited evaluation, scarce high-quality evidence and significant variability across programmes. Moreover, existing literature often appears to focus on specific professional groups or a particular care context, limiting the generalisability of findings. This scoping review seeks to map the available evidence on training aimed at preventing workplace violence in healthcare settings. Its objective is to describe the characteristics of existing studies, identify methodological and conceptual gaps, and identify directions for future research that may contribute to improving workplace violence prevention training practices.Methods and analysis This scoping review will consider evidence relating to workplace violence training programmes offered to healthcare personnel. All types of primary studies, using quantitative, qualitative or mixed methodologies, will be considered. The review will be conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) methodology for scoping reviews and reported following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews (PRISMA-ScR) guidelines. Searches will be conducted in ABI/INFORM Collection, PsycINFO, PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley Online Library, Emerald Insight, CINAHL Plus and MEDLINE as well as selected public search engines. Studies published in English and French, with no date restriction, will be eligible. Two independent reviewers will screen titles, abstracts and full texts, with disagreements resolved through discussion or consultation with a third reviewer. Data will be extracted using a standardised extraction form covering study characteristics, training interventions and effectiveness outcomes. Findings will be synthesised descriptively and presented in tables and concept maps to identify research trends, methodological characteristics and knowledge gaps.Ethics and dissemination This scoping review represents the preliminary phase of a larger project aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of workplace violence prevention training programmes in healthcare settings. It will use published literature available in the public domain and will involve no participants; therefore, ethical approval is not required. The findings of the proposed review will be published in peer-reviewed journals relevant to the topic and will be presented at associated conferences. In addition, results will be disseminated to associations or networks of healthcare managers and administrators through various channels.
SN - 2044-6055
SN - 2044-6055
ER -