A scoping review of interventions to address adverse social behavior in human service organizations
Rebecka Cowen Forssell, Annabelle M. Neall, Zhenxin YanPurpose
Adverse social behavior (ASB) perpetrated by organizational outsiders is a longstanding and significant problem within many organizations, including human service organizations (HSOs). Preventing such behaviors is critical to employee health, well-being, and organizational functioning. Although intervention research is expanding, it remains fragmented, shows variability in implementation quality, and rarely addresses digitally delivered or technology-mediated contexts. To address these gaps, we conducted a systematic scoping review of interventions designed to mitigate ASB across HSOs, synthesizing evidence across sectors to examine intervention approaches, implementation features and potential transferability, including relevance for emerging digital service contexts.
Design/methodology/approach
Four academic databases were searched using a PICO structure, yielding 13,075 records. Additional studies were identified via snowball searching. Following title/abstract and full-text screening, 42 studies across 41 papers were included in the final analysis.
Findings
Healthcare was the sole industry represented in ASB intervention studies (n = 41), and no studies addressed ASB perpetrated via digital platforms. De-escalation training and awareness campaigns were the most common intervention components, and fewer than a quarter of studies used primary-level approaches such as risk identification, environmental or informational modifications or policy change. Interventions were typically evaluated only during implementation, limiting evidence on longer-term effectiveness. Four key themes for future research and practice were identified.
Originality/value
Existing interventions are highly similar in their target populations, professional focus, intervention type and evaluation methods. The review highlights the need for multi-level strategies that safeguard HSO workers and address emerging risks such as digitally perpetrated ASB, providing a foundation for developing more effective evidence-based interventions.