Violence Against Healthcare Workers: A Worldwide Phenomenon With Serious Consequences

A Scoping Review of Psychosocial Risks to Health Workers during the Covid-19 Pandemic

“…Nurses as an occupational category, are found to be particularly exposed to PSR [ 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Exposure to physical hazards and psychosocial risks in healthcare arises from working overtime, work overload, and time pressure [ 21 , 22 , 23 ], an insufficient number of rest breaks and days away from work, leading to poor work-life balance [ 14 , 24 ], shiftwork [ 25 , 26 ], low wages and job insecurity [ 27 , 28 , 29 ], and exposure to adverse social behaviour, such as violence and harassment [ 30 , 31 ]. Precarious employment is increasing, particularly in the elderly- and long-term care sector with many migrant workers [ 32 , 33 ]; this type of employment is a source of financial stress due to income insecurity which can affect the health of workers [ 34 ].…”

Hospital-Based Healthcare Workers Victims of Workplace Violence in Italy: A Scoping Review

“…Already visible in other countries [ 1 , 4 , 9 , 12 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 27 , 29 ], the growing interest in the phenomenon of WPV in hospitals is now seen in Italy as well, as demonstrated by the increasing number of scientific publications in the field (in 2020, the highest ever number of published papers was recorded). That said, it is important to note that, although in recent years the total number of publications has generally increased, this does not necessarily imply a discernible trend.…”

“…Both hypotheses contribute to giving an explanation of this much-debated phenomenon. WPV in the sanitary context is probably affected by various factors at the individual and organizational level; it can negatively influence healthcare workers’ individual along with family relationships (spillover effect) and can lead to a poorer quality of patient care [ 9 , 21 ]. Overall, the causes of this worsening at a global level may be due to increasing socio-economic difficulties, the growing complexity of the healthcare system and a greater diffusion of feelings of anger, frustration and restlessness [ 9 , 21 ].…”

“…WPV threatens, in fact, the well-being of both the workers and the organization they belong to, negatively influencing the rights of millions of people to work in a safe environment and affecting the organization with absenteeism and low productivity, among other things. For these reasons, worldwide, several international organizations [ 5 , 6 , 7 ], along with many different research groups [ 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 ], are underlining the importance of having specific guidelines to monitor and prevent the spreading of this phenomenon. In the last two decades, the number of scientific publications on this topic has grown.…”

Contention over contagion: Citizen responses to COVID-19 policies

“…A third set of actions captured by the CPR targeted violence against the health community, including destruction of infrastructure (for example, testing and quarantine centers) and aggression against healthcare workers. Such actions often were prompted by communities who were misinformed about how the coronavirus spreads and believed proximity to nurses, doctors, and health facilities increased the likelihood of catching the virus, or who felt that patients and family members were not being treated with appropriate care by the medical community (see Vento et al 2020). In addition, the CPR captured incidents of noncompliance with government mandates reported in local media outlets, including failure to wear masks or maintain social distancing.…”