A pilot study of workplace violence towards paramedics

Abstract

Background: International studies have shown that some 60% of paramedics have experienced physical violence in the workplace, and between 21-78% have experienced verbal abuse. To date, there is no Australian literature describing Australian paramedics' experience of workplace violence. Objective: To identify the percentage of paramedics who had experienced six different forms of workplace violence. Methods: A questionnaire was developed to explore paramedics' experience of workplace violence. Six forms of violence were included: verbal abuse, property damage or theft, intimidation, physical abuse, sexual harassment, and sexual assault. The questionnaire also included a series of demographic questions. The questionnaire was piloted using a reference group and changes made accordingly. The questionnaire was distributed to 500 rural Victorian paramedics and 430 metropolitan South Australian paramedics. Ethics approval was granted for this study. Results: The overall response rate was 28%, with 75% being male and 25% female. The median age of respondents was 40.7 years, range 21-62 years. The median number of years experience as a paramedic was 14.3 years, range 6 months to 39 years. There were 87.5% of paramedics exposed to workplace violence. Verbal abuse was the most prevalent form of workplace violence (82%), with intimidation (55%), physical abuse (38%), sexual harassment (17%), and sexual assault (4%). Conclusion: This study lays the foundation for further studies investigating paramedic experience of workplace violence. This study demonstrates that workplace violence is prevalent for paramedics and highlights the need for prevention and education within the profession.

Workplace abuse among correctional health professionals in New South Wales, Australia

“…[30][31][32] Our finding that verbal abuse was more commonly reported than physical abuse is consistent with previous studies. [9][10][11]13,15,17 The prevalence of verbal abuse found in our study (76%) is greater than that found by Farrell et al (63%). 13 Although a recent study found that verbal abuse was less damaging than physical abuse in terms of the effect it has on the quality of patient care, 12 the available evidence unequivocally demonstrates the negative impacts of verbal abuse and bullying in the workplace on both the quality of the delivery of health services and the health and wellbeing of victims.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Unfortunately, however, workplace abuse directed at front line health professionals is a common problem in several countries, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] including Australia. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] A recent systematic review of studies of the prevalence of patient-initiated abuse perpetrated against Australian general practitioners found 12 month period prevalence ratios ranging from 48 to 64%. 15 Similarly, a large study of nurses who were practising in Tasmania found a 1 month period prevalence of 64%.…”

Workplace Violence in Emergency Department and its Effects on Emergency Staff

“…In Australia, it has been reported that violent and aggressive behavior towards healthcare providers widely occured (Stanley & Goddard, 2002). Similar to the results in Canada, a study revealed that paramedics who are an important part of emergency settings in Australia, commonly experienced WPV, predominantly in the form of verbal abuse.In this study, it was also reported that, besides WPV, significant number of paramedics complained about sexual harassement by work colleagues (Boyle, Koritsas, Coles et al, 2007). …”

Violence against ambulance personnel: a retrospective cohort study of national data from Safe Work Australia

“…3 Among all healthcare workers in Australia, ambulance officers were found to be at the greatest risk of workplace violence. 4 Globally, violence has been found to be a cause of injuries among emergency medical services (EMS) personnel in multiple countries.…”