Physical violence against health care workers: A nationwide study from Iran

Abstract

Background:Workplace violence is a serious and problematic phenomenon in health care settings. Research shows that health care workers are at the highest risk of such violence. The aim of this study was to address the frequency of physical violence against Iranian health personnel, their response to such violence, as well as the contributing factors to physical violence.Materials and Methods:A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2011, in which 6500 out of 57,000 health personnel working in some teaching hospitals were selected using multi-stage random sampling. Data were collected using the questionnaire of “Workplace Violence in the Health Sector” developed by the International Labor Organization, the International Council of Nurses, the World Health Organization, and the Public Services International.Results:The findings revealed that 23.5% of the participants were exposed to physical violence in the 12 months prior to the study. Nurses were the main victims of physical violence (78%) and patients' families were the main perpetrators of violence (56%). The most common reaction of victims to physical violence was asking the aggressor to stop violence (45%). Lack of people's knowledge of employees' tasks was the most common contributing factor to physical violence (49.2%).Conclusions:Based on the results, legislating appropriate laws in order to prevent and control violence in the workplace is necessary. Moreover, developing educational programs to manage the incidence of physical violence should be on health centers' agenda.

Antecedents and consequences of workplace violence against nurses: A qualitative study

“…The findings of quantitative research conducted in Iran suggest that it is possible to compare the frequency of violence in Iran with the frequency of violence observed in international studies (Esmaeilpour, Salsali, & Ahmadi, ; Fallahi‐Khoshknab, Oskouie, Najafi et al., ; Fallahi‐Khoshknab, Oskouie, Najafi et al, ). The Iranian research found that the frequency of violence in psychiatric units was 71% (Fallahi‐Khoshknab, Tamizi, Ghazanfari, & Mehrabani, ) and that the frequencies of sexual and racial harassment were 4.7% and 12%, respectively (Fallahi‐Khoshknab, Oskouie, Ghazanfari et al., ).…”

The Prevalence of Workplace Violence Against Iranian Nurses: A Systematic Review and Meta - Analysis

“…Workplace violence is the third leading cause of deaths from injuries in the United States and is the second leading cause of women's death in the workplace (2). Healthcare workers are 16 times more likely to experience workplace violence than any other employees (3). Although violence occurs in all workplaces and medical settings, nurses are three times more likely to experience violence than any other healthcare providers due to their close contact with patients and their relatives (4,5).…”

The presence of violence at work of health care personnel and their work ability

“…Moreover, the data testify that nurses and physician assistants are more a subject of violence at work place. There is evidence also in other research that nurses are the main violence victims [15].…”

“…At the same time, comparative analysis has proved that the staff who have undergone verbal abuse and have been intimidated/terrorized, received it from the client's next of kin, relatives, workmates and managers; in cases of physical attacks -the clients (89%) and the relatives of a client (22%). The opposite situation was discovered in a research in Iran [15], Pakistan [16,17], and China [18], where the main aggressors have been declared to be the relatives of a client or persons accompanying the client. This situation can be explained if considering social-cultural differences in Iran and Pakistan.…”