High Incidence of Workplace Violence in Metropolitan Emergency Departments of Thailand; a Cross Sectional Study
Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine,
Vol. 9 No. 1 (2021),
1 January 2021
,
Page e30
https://doi.org/10.22037/aaem.v9i1.1140
Abstract
Introduction: Violence against healthcare workers mostly occurs in emergency departments and is a serious global public health issue. This study aimed to evaluate the prevalence of violence directed towards emergency department healthcare personnel and to ascertain the factors that might be correlated with it.
Methods: In this cross-sectional study, an anonymous questionnaire was used to gather data from healthcare personnel working in the emergency departments under the direction of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration between 1 August 2019 and 30 November 2019, regarding the experience of violence during the previous year.
Results: A total of 258 (87.5%) responses were received from 295 personnel. The results showed that 88.4% (228 personnel) had experienced violence during the past year, of these, 37.6% involved physical abuse that caused minor injuries. Employees with shorter tenures, nurses, and those working in tertiary academic emergency departments in the central business district were found to have increased likelihood of confronting violence. Measures taken to prevent violence had a limited impact on the occurrence rate. The most common impact on employees after experiencing violence was discouragement in their jobs (75.1 %). The key factors that promoted cases of violence were the consumption of alcohol or drugs (81.3%) and long waiting times (73.6%). Most violence tended to occur during non-office hours (95.4%). One-third of emergency healthcare personnel reported facing violence during their work.
Conclusion: Emergency healthcare personnel in metropolitan of Thailand had a high rate of experiencing violence in the previous year. Younger age, lower work experience, being a nurse, and working in the urban academic or tertiary emergency department increased the likelihood of being a victim of workplace violence.
- Emergency department
- Factors
- Hospital
- Personnel
- prevention measure
- violence
How to Cite
References
Geneva SILOI, International Council of Nurses (ICN), World Health Organization (WHO), Public Services International (PSI). Framework guidelines for addressing workplace violence in the health sector 2002 [cited 2020 April 9]. Available from: https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/handle/10665/42617/9221134466.pdf;jsessionid=0A5DDF89BE1433228CB25B57614D05B3?sequence=1.
Commission TJ. Physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers 2018 [cited 2020 April 9]. Available from: https://www.jointcommission.org/-/media/tjc/documents/resources/patient-safety-topics/sentinel-event/sea_59_workplace_violence_4_13_18_final.pdf.
Behnam M, Tillotson RD, Davis SM, Hobbs GR. Violence in the emergency department: a national survey of emergency medicine residents and attending physicians. The Journal of emergency medicine. 2011;40(5):565-79.
Cai R, Tang J, Deng C, Lv G, Xu X, Sylvia S, et al. Violence against health care workers in China, 2013–2016: evidence from the national judgment documents. Human resources for health. 2019;17(1):1-14.
Stene J, Larson E, Levy M, Dohlman M. Workplace violence in the emergency department: giving staff the tools and support to report. The permanente journal. 2015;19(2):e113.
Saimai W, Thanjira S, Phasertsukjinda N. Workplace violence and its management by nursing personnel in emergency department. Rama Nurs J. 2010;1:16.
Nundy M. Violence against Health Personnel in China and India: Symptom of a Deeper Crisis. ICS Analysis. 2015.
Abdellah RF, Salama KM. Prevalence and risk factors of workplace violence against health care workers in emergency department in Ismailia, Egypt. Pan African medical journal. 2017;26(1):1-8.
Tang J-S, Chen C-L, Zhang Z-R, Wang L. Incidence and related factors of violence in emergency departments—a study of nurses in southern Taiwan. Journal of the Formosan Medical Association. 2007;106(9):748-58.
Liu W, Zhao S, Shi L, Zhang Z, Liu X, Li L, et al. Workplace violence, job satisfaction, burnout, perceived organisational support and their effects on turnover intention among Chinese nurses in tertiary hospitals: a cross-sectional study. BMJ open. 2018;8(6).
Peek-Asa C, Casteel C, Allareddy V, Nocera M, Goldmacher S, OHagan E, et al. Workplace violence prevention programs in hospital emergency departments. Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. 2007;49(7):756-63.
Chapman R, Perry L, Styles I, Combs S. Predicting patient aggression against nurses in all hospital areas. British Journal of Nursing. 2009;18(8):476-83.
Huddy J. Design Considerations for a Safer Emergency Department American College of Emergency Physicians, Dallas, Texas; 2017 [Available from: https://www.acep.org/globalassets/sites/acep/media/safety-in-the-ed/designconsiderationsforsaferemergencydepartment.pdf.
Administration OSaH. Guidelines for preventing workplace violence in healthcare and social service workers U.S. Department of Labor Occupational Safety and Health Administration; 2016 [Available from: https://www.osha.gov/Publications/osha3148.pdf.
Arnetz JE, Hamblin L, Ager J, Luborsky M, Upfal MJ, Russell J, et al. Underreporting of workplace violence: comparison of self-report and actual documentation of hospital incidents. Workplace Health & Safety. 2015;63(5):200-10.
Ramacciati N, Ceccagnoli A, Addey B, Lumini E, Rasero L. Interventions to reduce the risk of violence toward emergency department staff: current approaches. Open access emergency medicine: OAEM. 2016;8:17.
Gillespie GL, Gates DM, Mentzel T, Al-Natour A, Kowalenko T. Evaluation of a comprehensive ED violence prevention program. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2013;39(4):376-83.
Gillespie GL, Gates DM, Kowalenko T, Bresler S, Succop P. Implementation of a comprehensive intervention to reduce physical assaults and threats in the emergency department. Journal of Emergency Nursing. 2014;40(6):586-91.
Phillips JP. Workplace violence against health care workers in the United States. New England journal of medicine. 2016;374(17):1661-9.
Kowalenko T, Cunningham R, Sachs CJ, Gore R, Barata IA, Gates D, et al. Workplace violence in emergency medicine: current knowledge and future directions. The Journal of emergency medicine. 2012;43(3):523-31.
Council NS. New Texas law makes assault against emergency department personnel a felony. Safety+Health. 2013
Network CGT. China adopts new law to stop violence against medical workers: CGTN; 2019 [Available from: https://news.cgtn.com/news/2019-12-28/China-adopts-new-law-to-stop-violence-against-medical-workers-MMYeMJQtxu/index.html.
Information VGH. Tough new penalties for healthcare assaults. State Government of Victoria, Australia 2014 [Available from: http://www.health.vic.gov.au/healthvictoria/sep14/tough.htm.
Kleissl-Muir S, Raymond A, Rahman MA. Analysis of patient related violence in a regional emergency department in Victoria, Australia. Australasian emergency care. 2019;22(2):126-31.
International Labour Office (ILO) ICoNI, World Health Organisation (WHO), Public Services International (PSI). Workplace Violence in the health sector country case studies research instruments survey questionnaire Geneva: Joint Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector; 2003 [Available from: https://docplayer.net/21034521-Workplace-violence-in-the-health-sector-country-case-studies-research-instruments-survey-questionnaire-english-joint-programme-on.html
Alyaemni A, Alhudaithi H. Workplace violence against nurses in the emergency departments of three hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional survey. NursingPlus Open. 2016;2:35-41.
Bayram B, Çetin M, Oray NÇ, Can İÖ. Workplace violence against physicians in Turkey’s emergency departments: a cross-sectional survey. BMJ open. 2017;7(6).
Organization WH. Violence against health workers [Available from: https://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/workplace/en/.
Kamchuchat C, Chongsuvivatwong V, Oncheunjit S, Yip TW, Sangthong R. Workplace violence directed at nursing staff at a general hospital in southern Thailand. Journal of occupational health. 2008;50(2):201-7.
McPhaul KM, Lipscomb JA. Workplace violence in health care: recognized but not regulated. Online Journal of Issues in Nursing. 2004;9(3):7.
May J, Marsden C, Kurti L, Holloway L. An exploration of violence experienced by professionals from three sectors delivering key services in rural and remote workplaces.
Ferri P, Silvestri M, Artoni C, Di Lorenzo R. Workplace violence in different settings and among various health professionals in an Italian general hospital: a cross-sectional study. Psychology research and behavior management. 2016;9:263.
Kowalenko T, Walters BL, Khare RK, Compton S, Force MCoEPWVT. Workplace violence: a survey of emergency physicians in the state of Michigan. Annals of emergency medicine. 2005;46(2):142-7.
Reddy IR, Ukrani J, Indla V, Ukrani V. Violence against doctors: A viral epidemic? Indian journal of psychiatry. 2019;61(Suppl 4):S782.
Patcharatanasan N, Lertmaharit S. The Prevalence characteristics and related factors of workplace violence in healthcare workers in emergency departments of government hospitals in region 6 health provider. Journal of Preventive Medicine Association of Thailand. 2018:212-25.
Terry D, Lê Q, Nguyen U, Hoang H. Workplace health and safety issues among community nurses: a study regarding the impact on providing care to rural consumers. BMJ open. 2015;5(8):e008306.
Tian Y, Yue Y, Wang J, Luo T, Li Y, Zhou J. Workplace violence against hospital healthcare workers in China: a national WeChat-based survey. BMC public health. 2020;20:1-8.
Kowalenko T, Gates D, Gillespie GL, Succop P, Mentzel TK. Prospective study of violence against ED workers. The American journal of emergency medicine. 2013;31(1):197-205.
Omar H, Yue R, Amen A, Kowalenko T, Walters BL. Reassessment of violence toward emergency medicine physicians in Michigan. American journal of emergency medicine. 2019.
Ramacciati N, Gili A, Mezzetti A, Ceccagnoli A, Addey B, Rasero L. Violence towards Emergency Nurses: the 2016 Italian National Survey—a cross‐sectional study. Journal of nursing management. 2019;27(4):792-805.
- Abstract Viewed: 1292 times
- pdf Downloaded: 724 times