Analysing workplace violence towards health care staff in public hospitals using alternative ordered response models: the case of north-eastern Turkey

Risk factors of workplace violence: evidence from Turkey

Violence in the workplace is an emerging issue for occupational and public health. There has been growing concern about how to combat it with effective interventions. This study aims to determine the prevalence of workplace violence across all sectors and to identify the risk factors that influence violence in Turkey using logistic regression. Firstly, it was seen that the prevalence of violence was 22.87% and that being female, being young, having low education and having a chronic mental disease significantly increased the chance of being exposed to violence. Our results show that the risk of victimization is almost six times higher if the job is difficult. In addition, people working in the human health sector were more than twice as likely to be victimized as those working in the education sector. According to the results, the factors influencing workplace violence point to the power imbalance.

Work Reward Moderates the Association Between Work Effect and Workplace Violence Among Medical Staff in China

Purpose

Workplace violence (WPV) against healthcare workers is a significant public health issue in China and globally. Although the effort-reward imbalance theory claimed that work rewards may moderate the relationship between work effort and WPV, the quantitative evidence is limited. This study aimed to examine if work reward could moderate the associations between work effort and WPV against medical staff based on the effort-reward imbalance theory.

Methods

This is a cross-sectional study, which was conducted in 12 hospitals in Shandong, China. Data collected from 3426 medical staff were analyzed in this study. Work effort was evaluated by working hours and night shift work times per month (NSWM), and work reward was evaluated by monthly income and perceived social status. WPV, occupational characteristics, physical disease, and social-demographic variables were also evaluated in this study.

Results

There were 1788 (52.2%) medical staff, who reported the experience of workplace violence. Working hours, NSWM, and perceived social status were associated with WPV (all p<0.001). Monthly income could moderate the associations between monthly income and WPV or verbal violence (p<0.05), and perceived social status could moderate the associations between NSWM and WPV (p<0.001).

Conclusion

Monthly income could moderate the associations between monthly income and WPV (verbal violence), and perceived social status could moderate the associations between NSWM and WPV, which could be explained by the effort-reward imbalance model. These findings also can be translated into practices to control WPV against medical staff.

Why Violence Cannot be Prevented in Healthcare Settings in Türkiye?: A Retrospective Policy Analysis

Preventive policies have been devised with the aim of curbing health-related violence, and their efficacy is believed to furnish evidence for their continued implementation, thereby enhancing their effectiveness. This study undertakes a retrospective analysis of these policies in the context of Türkiye. A comprehensive examination involved the review of 26 documents, employing a progressive scanning approach for data collection. This methodology encompassed the utilization of gray literature databases (OECD iLibrary and WHO Iris), extensive Google searches, thorough website scans, and consultations with subject-matter experts. Data analysis was meticulously conducted within the framework of the Health Policy Triangle. The findings reveal active participation from diverse stakeholders, including governmental bodies, political entities, professional organizations, and trade unions, in various preventive initiatives aimed at mitigating health-related violence. Notably, the adoption of legislation for health violence prevention, perceived as a paramount achievement, can be attributed to persistent efforts by both the media and other influential actors and stakeholders. These endeavors have sustained the topic's prominence on the policy agenda, positioning it as a promising source for the development of novel violence prevention and management strategies. This study underscores the necessity for a comprehensive investigation into the working conditions, personal rights, and wage policies of healthcare workers, in light of documented factors that frequently precipitate violence. Concomitantly, it advocates for the development of effective mechanisms to address these issues.

Gender differences in workplace violence against physicians of obstetrics and gynecology in China: A questionnaire in the national congress

Background

China has witnessed a surge in violence against medical personnel, including widely reported incidents of violent abuse, riots, attacks, and protests in hospitals, but little is known about the impact of gender differences on the workplace violence against physicians of obstetrics and gynecology. The aim of this study was to analyse gender differences in workplace violence against physicians of obstetrics and gynecology in China.

Methods

Printed questionnaires were sent to participants of a national congress of obstetricians and gynecologists. The questionnaire consisted of items relevant to epidemiologic characteristics, workplace violence experienced in the past 12 months, participants’ attitudes toward violence and physician–patient relationship. Data from female and male physicians were compared in univariate and multivariate analyses.

Results

We sent out 1,425 questionnaires, and 1,300 (91.2%) physicians responded. Among 1,247 participants with specified gender, female and male physicians consisted of 162 (13.0%) and 1,085 (87.0%), respectively. Over the past 12 months, about two-thirds of these physicians suffered verbal abuse in the workplace, gender difference aside. After adjustment for education status, working hospital and subspecialty, male physicians had suffered more physical assaults than female colleagues (18.8% vs. 10.5%, adjusted odds ratio [OR] 2.3, 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.4–3.7), most attacks without apparent physical injuries (adjusted OR 2.3, 95% CI, 1.4–3.7). Male physicians also suffered more sexual assaults than female colleagues (5.0% vs. 1.3%, adjusted OR 4.8, 95% CI, 1.8–13.3), nearly all of verbal harassment. There were only two sexual attacks on female physicians, and no rapes occurred. Although almost all physicians regarded the current circumstance as “unhealthy and stressful”, more than half of them would take various active initiatives to create and maintain healthy and friendly physician–patient relationships.

Conclusion

Male physicians of obstetrics and gynecology in China suffered the same number of verbal abuse incidents but more physical and sexual assaults than their female colleagues. Both genders had similar opinions about causes, consequences and management about work violence against physicians, and had the same pessimistic perspectives but innovative wishes for the physician–patient relationship.

Consistent Use of Assistive Devices for Patient Transfer Is Associated With Less Patient-Initiated Violence: Cross-Sectional Study Among Health Care Workers at General Hospitals

This study investigated whether factors related to bodily contact between health care workers and patients were associated with patient-initiated violence. This cross-sectional study surveyed 496 Danish health care workers measuring patient-initiated violence, use of assistive devices, body mass index, physical exertion, frequency of patient transfers, psychosocial work environment, gender, age, and seniority. Associations were modeled using logistic regression analyses using patient-initiated violence as the outcome. Twenty-five percent of the respondents had experienced physical or verbal violence during the past year. Infrequent use of assistive devices, high physical strain, and severe obesity all significantly increased the risk of physical violence (risk ratio [RR] = 1.18, RR = 1.18, and RR = 1.16, respectively), whereas only the lack of assistive device use significantly increased the risk of verbal violence (RR = 1.13 and RR = 1.08). Consistent use of assistive devices appears to reduce the risk of patient-initiated violence. Managers should require the use of assistive devices when designing work processes for patient transfers.