Johns Hopkins University School of Nursing (JHUSON) professor Nancy E. Glass, PhD, MPH, RN, has received $2.9 million from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health Research Project Grant (R01), for research into the prevention of workplace violence.
The grant, which will be allocated over the next five years, represents a research partnership between JHUSON, Oregon Health & Science University, the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), WomenStrength and the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon. The study partner for this project is the community of 10,000 home care workers (85 percent female) who are members of the SEIU Local 503 in Oregon, and the project is divided into three phases. According to Glass, “The funding for our study represents [a unique] collaboration of union, community, and academic partners to address a significant and understudied workplace safety and health issue.”
As the principal investigator for the project, Glass will use community partnerships to develop, implement, and evaluate workplace interventions to prevent sexual harassment and workplace violence, particularly among home care workers, those professionals who assist patients in their own homes with every-day tasks so the patient can avoid going to a hospital or other health care facility.
Glass, a member of the School’s Department of Community Public Health plans to determine the prevalence, risk, and protective factors related to sexual harassment and workplace violence in female home care workers. With her co-investigators Jacquelyn C. Campbell, PhD, RN, FAAN, and Linda Rose, PhD, RN, she will develop and evaluate strategies to prevent sexual harassment and workplace violence by the employer, in this case the consumer or patient.