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Incidents of occupational violence against nurses are unacceptably high. Remote Area Nurses in Australia frequently encounter violence in the work place and have limited resources to deal with the problem. Adopting a risk management approach, and utilising the Delphi method, a panel of expert Remote Area Nurses (n= 10) from geographically diverse communities, identified and prioritised hazards that increase the risk of violence and made suggestions for controlling those hazards.

Priority hazards included; building maintenance and design, attending call-outs away from the clinic, staff inexperience and lack of knowledge about the community, as well as intoxicated clients, communication difficulties and a work culture that accepts verbal abuse as “part of the job”. Orientation, education and support of staff were identified as strategies to improve the personal safety of Remote Area Nurses, along with staff …