NCJ Number
193132
Date Published
2002
Length
17 pages
Annotation
After defining four types of traumatic events at work, not all of which would be typically considered violent, this chapter presents the essential elements of a trauma care program based on a system of crisis management.
Abstract
The four types of traumatic events found in organizations are "operational" (e.g., exposure to biological hazard, carcinogen, or noxious fumes); "interpersonal" (e.g., bullying, verbal abuse, and suicide of a colleague); "criminal" (e.g., bomb threat, mugging, and violent attack); and "physical injuries" (e.g., vehicle crash, equipment failure/misuse, and small-scale fires). Organizations that regularly expose their employees to violent or traumatic incidents cannot avoid the psychological consequences of this exposure to their employees. The organizational cost of traumatic stress is high and is paid for by sickness absence, medical retirements, and costly litigation. The need to deal with the psychological impact of exposure to violent incidents and disasters has prompted the introduction of organizational trauma care programs. This chapter describes the core trauma care program adopted by the United Kingdom Post Office. Post Office employees have been involved in a wide range of traumatic incidents that have ranged from threats of violence and verbal abuse to armed raids and physical attacks. The program involves five stages of response. The stages are selection, pre-incident information and induction; crisis management and diffusion; first-line debriefing; psychological debriefing; trauma counseling/psychiatric care; and auditing and evaluation. A key finding from the assessment of this program reflects findings from research on other initiatives, i.e., that the trauma care program must be integrated into the core of the organization. The author recommends that all organizations have a strategy for addressing all forms of violence, accompanied by evaluations of their effectiveness. 3 tables, 1 figure, and 43 notes