The Second International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector: From Awareness to Sustainable Action will be held on October 27-29 2010,  in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The focus of the Second International Conference on Violence in the Health Sector targets concrete and sustainable initiatives, projects, and research aimed at combating violence in the health sector. Additionally, the event seeks to share lessons learned.

The announcement for this event indicates that this conference is being recognized as a continuing education activity and has been approved by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) for the award of International Continuing Nursing Education Credits (ICNECs).

Research indicates that:

• As many as 72% of nurses do not feel safe from assault a work (ICN)
• Health-care professionals are at the highest risk for being attacked at work, even when compared to prison guards, police officers, or bank personnel (Kingma)
• Tens of thousands of women each year are subjected to sexual violence in health care settings (WHO)
• In a survey of 127 hospitalized psychiatric patients 50% reported experiences of abuse either by other patients or by staff (Lucas and Stevenson)

This issue is progressively gaining attention and recognition as being a global problem in health care settings. For further information on the conference, visit the conference website at http://www.oudconsultancy.nl/Violence-Healthsector/violence/invitation-viole.html

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