Publication Date

Spring 2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Department

Interdisciplinary Leadership

First Advisor

Erica Ceka, Ph.D.

Second Advisor

Natalia Ermasova, Ph.D.

Third Advisor

Christopher Dignam, Ed.D.

Abstract

This qualitative study examined how managers of nonprofit healthcare facilities in the Chicago metropolitan area implement strategies to reduce workplace violence, what these strategies are and how they are carried out, and what organizational factors facilitate or impede their implementation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with seven healthcare professionals in management or safety-oriented roles across seven facilities, purposefully sampled through the researcher's professional network. Findings revealed four recurring patterns across the sample. Prevention infrastructure was installed reactively, following specific triggering incidents rather than anticipating documented risk. Facilities consistently favored lower-cost mitigation measures over more resource-intensive prevention strategies. Reliance on short-tenure contract and agency staff weakened consistent uptake of workplace violence training and safety culture. Workplace violence prevention became an organizational priority primarily where leadership actively and visibly championed it, a quality tied more closely to leaders' physical presence than to their formal authority. These patterns held with notable consistency across facilities that varied in ownership structure, network affiliation, and neighborhood risk. This study contributes to the healthcare workplace violence literature by documenting the organizational decision-making that shapes institutional response, Findings inform practical recommendations for healthcare managers and policy recommendations for regulators, and identify directions for future research.

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