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The purpose of this study is to evaluate a conflict management training that used a communication competence perspective. This addresses whether the training had an impact on role conflict, conflict resolution skills, horizontal violence, burnout, turnover intention and perceptions of consumers. It also assessed staff perceptions of the training.

A mixed-method analysis was used using survey data from multiple time points along with focus group interviews.

The program decreased role conflict, horizontal violence and burnout among direct-care workers, whereas feelings of safety and perceptions of workers’ ability to protect themselves and others in aggressive situations increased. Furthermore, staff felt the training was useful and increased feelings of safety and empowerment at the study.

These findings suggest that conflict management training may need additional refresher sessions. Administrative planning is also needed to ensure training of all staff is trained in an adequate timeframe.

These results, although positive, are somewhat time bound. Therefore, the content of training and knowledge dissemination of conflict management training need additional research to ensure best practices.

A somewhat common view of social movements is that they are somehow associated with the vanguard, or that they are at least leading the way to new possibilities on what are frequently considered to be cutting edge issues, that is, topics that few others are currently concerned with or informed about in meaningful ways. This has often been the case historically, and when it is, it is also one of the reasons why social movements are so exciting to study and have attracted such sustained social scientific attention. Sometimes this added scholarly attention to the movement and its issues is another salient variable in pushing forward the social and political change that the movement is aiming for. But social movements are not always on the cutting edge; indeed, sometimes they aren’t close to it. Social movements frequently only mirror concerns, processes, or patterns that are swirling about or even dominating the society of which the movement is a part. In this sense social movements are reflectors and followers just as much as they may be leaders. Yet even this view is too simplistic since it is also true that social movements may lag behind – only adopting practices and processes long after they are already well established in other sectors of the society.