LIMITATIONS

There were several limitations associated with the 2016 Crime Survey that are worth noting.  First, the survey sample is representative of hospitals affiliated with the International Association for Healthcare Security & Safety (IAHSS).  However, this is a good sample as IAHSS is the only organization solely dedicated to professionals involved in managing and directing security and safety programs in healthcare institutions and IAHSS members represent a significant number of the 5,000+ hospitals in the U.S. and Canada.  The usable response rate to this survey, while higher than years past and higher than last year, is still low.

Second, we had concerns about the differences between crime definitions across states and provinces and ultimately between countries.  To alleviate this concern, we provided survey respondents with crime definitions from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (U.S.) and the Canadian Criminal Code along with healthcare related examples.  Based on the quality of responses received, it appears that this mitigated the anticipated issue.
Third, the use of bed counts as the sole indicator of hospital size and population is a limiting factor.  There are better indicators that more accurately reflect size and population (people).  For example, number of Emergency Department visits, number of employees, hospital square feet, average daily census, and adjusted patient days can also be used to calculate crime rates.  However, obtaining this information proved to be more difficult for some of the crime survey’s respondents.  Bed counts, on the other hand, were the most consistently reported indicator of size and/or population.