Kaija Leena Saarela is professor at the Center for Safety Management and Engineering, Department of Industrial Management, Tampere University of Technology (TUT), Finland. She received the Doctor of Science in Technology degree from Helsinki University of Technology, Finland. Her research interests include e.g. health and safety management, risk and accident analysis and prevention of accidents and violence at work.
Violence at work has been identified as a difficult problem in many countries. In Finland, the problem seems to be on the increase e.g. among health care workers. Hence there is an urgent need for preventive actions. The main objective of the present study was to improve violence prevention in health care, especially hospitals. The development process of a model integrating violence prevention in health and safety management was carried out in close collaboration with health care organizations, authorities and other partners. Information on the current situation was gathered for a background of the model by a literature review, interviews, observations and questionnaire surveys. In the model, attention is paid e.g. to responsibilities and tasks at different levels of management. Although violence at work constitutes a complex problem, good results can be generated by a systematic approach and effective health and safety management.