The frequency of workplace violence against healthcare workers and affecting factors
PLoS ONE, cilt.18, sa.7 JULY, 2023 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 18 Sayı: 7 JULY
- Basım Tarihi: 2023
- Doi Numarası: 10.1371/journal.pone.0289363
- Dergi Adı: PLoS ONE
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, Academic Search Premier, Agricultural & Environmental Science Database, Animal Behavior Abstracts, Aquatic Science & Fisheries Abstracts (ASFA), BIOSIS, Biotechnology Research Abstracts, Chemical Abstracts Core, Food Science & Technology Abstracts, Index Islamicus, Linguistic Bibliography, MEDLINE, Pollution Abstracts, Psycinfo, zbMATH, Directory of Open Access Journals
- Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Background Workplace violence has become a global issue, especially among healthcare workers. This study aimed to determine the influencing factors and legal processes of workplace violence incidents, as well as the frequency of workplace violence in a tertiary hospital. Methods This observational, descriptive, retrospective frequency study was conducted between January 2020 and March 2022. This study examined the workplace violence records of 135 healthcare professionals at a tertiary hospital’s Patient Rights and Employee Safety and Law departments. Factors affecting workplace violence were categorized as noncompliance with the procedure, communication, and dissatisfaction. Results Workplace violence frequency was observed in the cumulative total of 10821 healthcare workers at 1.2%. In terms of workplace violence types, 71.9% were verbal and 28.1% were physical. In terms of exposure to workplace violence, doctors accounted for 62.3%, nurses for 20%, and medical secretaries for 7.4%. Most cases were observed in outpatient clinics (34.8%), followed by emergency departments (25.9%). Among the main reasons for workplace violence against healthcare workers, non-compliance with procedures (49.6%), communication (27.4%), and dissatisfaction (23.1%) were identified. Legal aid was provided to all notifications of workplace violence. 37.1% were not prosecuted, 55.5% were under investigation, 4.4% were accepted indictments, and 3.0% were punished by a judicial fine. Conclusion This study can provide significant contributions to the formulation of workplace violence prevention policies and programs by analyzing white-code notifications for workplace violence frequency and preventable factors. Healthcare workers may have underreported workplace violence events due to the length of the proceedings and the perceived lack of protection from legal regulations.