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Driving Change in Health Care

​​Workplace violence is a global challenge affecting health care institutions, with acute care settings like emergency departments experiencing particularly high rates. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, incidents have increased and remain elevated, even as health systems move into the recovery phase.

At UHN, we are driving meaningful change through evidence-based strategies and continuous learning. Our team is committed to contributing to the broader conversation on workplace violence prevention in health care by sharing our research, insights, and innovations. We actively publish our findings and present at national and international conferences to help advance best practices and promote safer, more supportive health care environments for both staff and patients. By engaging in open knowledge exchange, we aim to support other health care institutions in strengthening their own workplace violence prevention efforts, advancing best practices and fostering safer, more supportive environments for both staff and patients.

Let's Build Something Bigger

We hope the work we've begun at UHN can contribute to a larger, shared effort to improve safety and respect across health care settings. If you're working in this space, we welcome the opportunity to connect, whether you're looking to learn from our approach, share your own experiences, or explore opportunities for collaboration. Together, we can continue building the knowledge and partnerships needed to create safer environments for everyone in health care. UHN Workplace Violence Prevention team offers several opportunities for consultation, site visits or observerships. Please send your inquiry to mutualrespect@uhn.ca.

Publications

Conferences

Schulz-Quach, C., Sethi, R., Singh, B., Gorla, J., Nimako, J., Haines, J., Whiteside, R., Toppings, M., & Lyver, B. Understanding, Measuring, and Ameliorating Workplace Violence in Healthcare: A Canadian Systematic Framework to Address a Global Healthcare Phenomenon. Presented at the BMJ Healthcare Quality Improvement and Patient Safety. 2025 May 21-23. Utrecht, Netherlands.

Schulz-Quach, C., Sethi, R., Singh, B., Gorla, J., Nimako, J., Haines, J., Whiteside, R., Toppings, M., & Lyver, B. Understanding, Measuring, and Ameliorating Workplace Violence in Healthcare: A Canadian Systematic Framework to Address a Global Healthcare Phenomenon. Presented at the Faculty of Liaison Psychiatry Annual Conference. 2025 May 14-16. London, United Kingdom.

Singh, B., Lyver, B., Sethi, R., Gorla, J., Haines, J., Toppings, M., & Schulz-Quach, C. Exploring Emergency Department Culture Relating to Workplace Violence at UHN. Presented at the Centre for Quality Improvement and Patient Safety Symposium. 2024 November 19. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Lyver, B., Sethi, R., & Schulz-Quach, C. Violence is part of the job: Investigating and addressing the impacts of workplace violence on emergency department staff through qualitative interviews. Presented at the WPA World Congress of Psychiatry. 2024 November 14-17. Mexico City, Mexico.

Schulz-Quach, C., Sethi, R., & Lyver, B. Understanding, Measuring and Ameliorating Workplace Violence in Healthcare: A Canadian Systematic Framework to address a Global Healthcare Phenomenon. Presented at the WPA World Congress of Psychiatry. 2024 November 14-17. Mexico City, Mexico.

Sethi, R., Lyver, B., & Schulz-Quach, C. Developing a customised set of evidence-based quality indicators for measuring workplace violence towards healthcare workers: a modified Delphi method. Presented at the WPA World Congress of Psychiatry. 2024 November 14-17. Mexico City, Mexico.

Lyver, B., Sethi, R., Singh, B., Gorla, J., Haines, J., & Schulz-Quach, C. Violence is part of the job: Investigating and addressing the impacts of workplace violence on emergency department staff through qualitative interviews. Presented at the ACLP Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. 2024 November 7-9. Miami, Florida, United States.

Sethi, R., Lyver, B., Gorla, J., Haines, J., & Schulz-Quach, C. Developing a customised set of evidence-based quality indicators for measuring workplace violence towards healthcare workers: a modified Delphi method. Presented at the ACLP Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry. 2024 November 7-9. Miami, Florida, United States.

Singh, B., Lyver, B., Sethi, R., Gorla, J., Haines, J., Toppings, M., & Schulz-Quach, C. Violence is part of the job: Investigating the impacts of workplace violence on emergency department staff through qualitative interviews. Presented at the Department of Psychiatry Research Day, University of Toronto. 2024 June 20. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Sethi, R., Lyver, B., Hanagan, T., & Schulz-Quach, C. Measuring, understanding, addressing, and ameliorating the effects leading to workplace-based violence and code whites in healthcare. Workshop. Presented at the Canada West Health Leaders Conference. 2023 October 24-26. Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

Lyver, B., Sethi, R., Hanagan, T., & Schulz-Quach, C. A Literature Review of Workplace Violence in Health Care Settings and Effective Solutions. Presented at the Canadian Psychiatry Association Conference. 2023 October 19. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Sethi, R., Lyver, B., Hanagan, T., & Schulz-Quach, C. Measuring, understanding, addressing, and ameliorating the effects leading to workplace-based violence and code whites in healthcare. Workshop. Presented at the Canadian Psychiatry Association Conference. 2023 October 19. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Schulz-Quach, C., Sethi, R., Lyver, B., & Hanagan, T. Quality Improvement in Workplace Violence Prevention in the Healthcare Setting. Presented at the Canadian Academy of Consultation and Liaison Psychiatry Conference. 2023 October 18. Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Schulz-Quach, C., Lyver, B., & Sethi, R. Quality Improvement in Workplace Violence Prevention in the Healthcare Setting. Presented at the Continuing Professional & Practice Development National Conference. 2023 September 23. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Lyver, B., Sethi, R., Haines, J., Toppings, M., & Schulz-Quach, C. Measuring, understanding, addressing and ameliorating the effects leading to workplace violence and code whites at UHN. Presented at the Department of Psychiatry Research Day, University of Toronto. 2023 June 15. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
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