Violence Against Physicians in the Workplace: Trends, Causes, Consequences, and Strategies for Intervention

Abstract

Purpose Violence against healthcare professionals has become an emergency in many countries. Literature in this area has mainly focused on nurses while there are less studies on physicians, whose alterations in mental health and burnout have been linked to higher rates of medical errors and poorer quality of care. We summarized peer-reviewed literature and examined the epidemiology, main causes, consequences, and areas of intervention associated with workplace violence perpetrated against physicians. Recent Findings We performed a review utilizing several databases, by including the most relevant studies in full journal articles investigating the problem. Workplace violence against doctors is a widespread phenomenon, present all over the world and related to a number of variables, including individual, socio-cultural, and contextual variables. During the COVID-19 pandemic, incidence of violence has increased. Data also show the possible consequences in physicians’ deterioration of quality of life, burnout, and traumatic stress which are linked to physical and mental health problems, which, in a domino effect, fall on patients’ quality of care. Summary Violence against doctors is an urgent global problem with consequences on an individual and societal level. This review highlights the need to undertake initiatives aimed at enhancing understanding, prevention, and management of workplace violence in healthcare settings.

Workplace Violence against Health Care Providers in Emergency Departments of Public Hospitals in Jordan: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Policies and legislation targeting violent acts against the healthcare team should be developed and activated. Caruso et al suggested the implementation of a two-level interventional system [ 51 ]. At the intra-institutional level, strategies should be developed to reduce institutional causes of violence (e.g., providing comfortable conditions to mitigate long waiting times precipitated by overcrowding).…”

Prevalence of Violence against Providers in Heart and Lung Transplant Programs

“…Workplace violence directed toward healthcare providers encompasses all “incidents where staff are abused, threatened or assaulted in circumstances related to their work […], involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health” [ 1 , 2 ]. It is an important concern that has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 ]. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses show that between 57–67% of the workforce experiences verbal abuse and 21–33% experiences threats of physical violence [ 2 , 5 ].…”

“…Workplace violence, at its worst, results in fatalities such as in the case of an orthopedic surgeon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was killed in a mass shooting by a disgruntled former patient [ 10 ]. Non-fatal violence incidents have personal and occupational consequences such as emotional distress, poor health behaviors, psychiatric disorders, and diminished job satisfaction/performance [ 3 ]. Despite the high prevalence of healthcare workplace violence, there are aspects of the problem that remain unaddressed and understudied [ 3 ].…”

“…Non-fatal violence incidents have personal and occupational consequences such as emotional distress, poor health behaviors, psychiatric disorders, and diminished job satisfaction/performance [ 3 ]. Despite the high prevalence of healthcare workplace violence, there are aspects of the problem that remain unaddressed and understudied [ 3 ]. Issues requiring more attention include the underreporting of incidents and lack of clear guidance for practitioners on what and how to report regarding these incidents [ 3 , 11 , 12 ].…”

“…Despite the high prevalence of healthcare workplace violence, there are aspects of the problem that remain unaddressed and understudied [ 3 ]. Issues requiring more attention include the underreporting of incidents and lack of clear guidance for practitioners on what and how to report regarding these incidents [ 3 , 11 , 12 ]. There is also a need to collect different data elements (e.g., provider gender) [ 5 ] and harmonize validated data collection tools/instruments to comprehensively study workplace violence [ 3 ].…”