Personal experiences of aggression or violence in the workplace lead to serious consequences for nurses, their patients, patient care and the organisation as a whole. While there is a plethora of research on this topic, no review is available that identifies types of aggression encountered, individuals perceived to be most at risk and coping strategies for victims. The aim of this systematic review was to examine occupational anxiety related to actual aggression in the workplace for nurses. Physical aggression was found to be most frequent in mental health, nursing homes and emergency departments while verbal aggression was more commonly experienced by general nurses. Nurses exposed to verbal or physical abuse often experienced a negative psychological impact post-incident.

Karen-leigh Edward - Associate Professor of Nursing Research, Faculty of Health Science, Australian Catholic University and Director, Nursing Research Unit, St Vincent's Private Hospital Melbourne, Australia

Karen Ousey - Lead of the Institute for Skin Integrity and Infection Prevention, University of Huddersfield

Philip Warelow - Senior Lecturer, Federation University, Victoria, Australia

Steve Lui - Senior Lecturer, School of Human and Health Sciences, University of Huddersfield, UK