Did you know?

According to 2025 injury statistics from the Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba, healthcare workers experienced 844 injury claims related to assaults and acts of violence, of which 520 resulted in time-loss injuries¹. These time-loss claims represent incidents where the severity of the injury required the worker to be absent from work. Assaults and violent acts were among the leading causes of workplace injuries in Manitoba’s healthcare sector, exceeding injuries resulting from falls and exposure to harmful substances.

These statistics highlight that workplace violence remains a significant hazard in healthcare, negatively affecting psychological health and safety, contributing to stress and burnout, disrupting operations, and impacting the quality of care provided to patients, residents, and clients. Organizations must proactively identify violence-related hazards, assess risks, and implement effective controls to prevent incidents.

What is a violence risk assessment?

Violence risk assessments are a proactive process used to identify workplace factors that may contribute to violence and determine appropriate control measures to reduce the likelihood of violence-related incidents.

It helps organizations answer three key questions:

• What could happen?

• Why could it happen?

• What can we do to reduce the risk?

How are violence risk assessments conducted?

Violence risk assessments are most effective when they are conducted collaboratively. Employers, supervisors, managers, workers and workplace safety and health committees each play an important role in identifying hazards, reporting concerns, assessing risks, and evaluating the effectiveness of controls.

A violence risk assessment typically involves five steps:

1. Gather information (ex. Incident reports, near misses, inspections, worker concerns, existing control measures).

2. Identify hazards and assess the level of risk.

3. Implement controls.

4. Review and monitor the effectiveness of controls.

When conducting an assessment, organizations should consider factors such as:

Assessments should be reviewed whenever workplace conditions change, incidents occur, new concerns emerge, or at minimum every three years.

Why do violence risk assessments matter?

Workplace violence hazards are often not fully recognized until after an incident has occurred. Conducting violence risk assessments enables organizations to proactively identify and evaluate violence-related risks before incidents result in harm to workers. A key outcome of the assessment process is the implementation of measures that help reduce the likelihood and severity of violent incidents.

Based on the identified risks, organizations may implement control measures that are appropriate to their workplace such as:

Violence risk assessments support informed decision-making and help organizations strengthen their overall approach to violence prevention. By understanding the factors that contribute to workplace violence and implementing appropriate preventive measures, organizations can strengthen their safety systems, reduce the likelihood of violent incidents, and minimize the potential for harm to workers.

Need help getting started? Contact MASH at hello@mashmb.ca for violence risk assessment resources, templates, or assistance conducting an assessment.

¹ Injury and illness statistics – Workers Compensation Board of Manitoba