Letter of Introduction - revised

Appendix D

Letter of Introduction and Fact Sheet for Healthcare Facilities

College of Health Sciences

School of Community & Environmental Health

<Date>

Name

Street Address

City, State Zip

Dear <Name>,

In the past year you have been contacted about a survey being conducting at New Jersey hospitals in conjunction with the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) regarding hospital security programs. We are still very interested in talking with you about the most successful and cost-beneficial elements of a hospital security program and learning about your experiences with the New Jersey Violence Prevention in Health Care Facilities Act.

As you may recall, we are interested in interviewing the chairperson of your workplace violence prevention committee or the person who is responsible for the hospital security program. The interviews are confidential and any recommendations made from this project will not be traceable to any individual.

Approximately half of the hospitals in New Jersey have participated. You are receiving this letter because we have yet to determine if you are willing to participate.

Someone from the research team will be calling you in about 2 weeks after you receive this letter to inquire about your willingness to participate. We have included a fact sheet describing the project.

Please feel free to call either the project coordinator, Maryalice Nocera RN MSN at 919-966-9769 or email [email protected] or Dr. James Blando at (757) 683-4073 or e-mail [email protected] with any questions.

Thank you for your time and consideration and we look forward to talking with you soon.

James Blando, Ph.D. Maryalice Nocera RN MSN

Assistant Professor Project Coordinator

School of Community and Environmental Health Injury Prevention Research

Old Dominion University University of North Carolina

College of Health Sciences

School of Community & Environmental Health

College of Health Sciences

School of Community & Environmental Health

Violence Prevention in New Jersey Healthcare Facilities

Study Fact Sheet

What is the purpose of the study?

The NJ Violence Prevention in Health Care Facilities Act requires hospitals to conduct a security assessment and implement a security plan for employees. We are interested in learning how hospitals in NJ have implemented these security plans in order to prevent workplace violence. The information we learn from this study will help us to develop recommendations for employers and employees throughout the health care industry and better understand how regulations can be most helpful in producing meaning and beneficial results.

How was our hospital selected?

Your hospital was selected from a list of licensed acute care and psychiatric facilities in New Jersey. We are planning to survey about 50 hospitals throughout the state.

What will we have to do if we participate?

A member of our project staff will interview the Chair of your Violence Prevention Committee and will review your security plan, policies, and training materials. The interview will take about 30 minutes to complete. The interview includes questions about security procedures, training and violence prevention policies. This interview will be scheduled at a convenient time.

What other information will we be asked for?

We would like to review materials that will help us understand your security plans, workplace violence training and type of incidents related to workplace violence.

If available during our visit, we would like to obtain data regarding the number of workplace violent incidents that have occurred in your hospital from 2005 through the present time. This information is typically available in the following public documents:

• OSHA 300 Logs

• Employer’s Reports for Occupational Injury and Illness

Is the information that you collect kept confidential?

All the information we collect is confidential and any written report we issue will not identify any individual names or the name of your hospital. No individuals or hospitals will be able to be identified in any of the study results.

Will you give our hospital the results of the survey?

Participating hospitals will receive final results of the study that describe different methods used by hospitals to increase security.

Who should I contact if I have questions?

You can contact the principal investigator, Dr. Jim Blando at (757) 683-4073; [email protected] or the project coordinator, Maryalice Nocera at (919) 966-9769; [email protected].