Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine

Vol. 6 No. 1 (2018)

Workplace Violence against Residents in Emergency Department and Reasons for not Reporting Them; a Cross Sectional Study

Archives of Academic Emergency Medicine, Vol. 6 No. 1 (2018), 1 January 2018 , Page e7
https://doi.org/10.22037/aaem.v6i1.50

Abstract

Introduction: Due to the stressful nature of emergency Department (ED), residents in ED are at risk of violence from patients or their associates. This study aimed to determine the prevalence of workplace violence against ED residents and the reasons for not reporting them. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on ED residents of three educational hospitals, Tehran, Iran, during 2015. The national questionnaire about workplace violence was used for data gathering. In addition, prevalence of reporting the violence and the reasons for not reporting them were determined. Results: 280 questionnaires were analyzed. The mean age of residents was 32.2 ± 4.6 years (58.4% female). 224 (80%) residents stated that they had not passed any educational courses on violence management. The most prevalent type of violence was verbal (90.7%) and patients’ associates (85.4%) were the most common source of aggression. The frequency of physical violence was higher in male aggressors (p = 0.001), resident age > 30 years (p = 0.044), aggressor age > 30 years (p = 0.001), and night shift (p = 0.001). The same trend was observed regarding verbal and racial-ethnic violence. There was no significant relationship between residents’ sex, resident's specialty, and presence of security and police with frequency of violence. 214 (76.4%) residents did not report the violence, and the main reasons for not reporting from their viewpoint were uselessness of reporting (37.4%) and insignificance of the violence (36.9%). Conclusion: Based on the findings of the present study more than 90% of ED residents had experienced at least one type of verbal, physical, or racial-ethnic violence during their shifts. It is necessary for residents in EDs to be trained about violence control and also report and follow these issues through legal channels.
Keywords:
  • Workplace violence
  • physical abuse
  • internship and residency
  • emergency service
  • hospital

How to Cite

1.
Hedayati Emam G, Alimohammadi H, Zolfaghari Sadrabad A, Hatamabadi H. Workplace Violence against Residents in Emergency Department and Reasons for not Reporting Them; a Cross Sectional Study. Arch Acad Emerg Med [Internet]. 2018 Nov. 21 [cited 2026 Feb. 7];6(1):e7. Available from: https://journals.sbmu.ac.ir/aaem/index.php/AAEM/article/view/50

References

Crilly J, Chaboyer W, Creedy D. Violence towards emergency department nurses by patients. Accident and Emergency Nursing. 2004;12(2):67-73.

Kansagra SM, Rao SR, Sullivan AF, Gordon JA, Magid DJ, Kaushal R, et al. A survey of workplace violence across 65 US emergency departments. Academic Emergency Medicine. 2008;15(12):1268-74.

Gates DM, Ross CS, McQueen L. Violence against emergency department workers. The Journal of emergency medicine. 2006;31(3):331-7.

Cezar ES, Marziale MHP. Occupational violence problems in an emergency hospital in Londrina, Paraná, Brazil. Cadernos de Saúde Pública. 2006;22(1):217-21.

Krug EG, Mercy JA, Dahlberg LL, Zwi AB. The world report on violence and health. The lancet. 2002;360(9339):1083-8.

McNamara SA. Workplace violence and its effects on patient safety. AORN journal. 2010;92(6):677-82.

Erkol H, Gökdoğan MR, Erkol Z, Boz B. Aggression and violence towards health care providers–a problem in Turkey? Journal of Forensic and Legal Medicine. 2007;14(7):423-8.

St-Pierre I, Holmes D. Managing nurses through disciplinary power: a Foucauldian analysis of workplace violence. J Nurs Manag. 2008;16(3):352-9.

Taylor JL, Rew L. A systematic review of the literature: workplace violence in the emergency department. Journal of clinical nursing. 2011;20(7â€8):1072-85.

Belayachi J, Berrechid K, Amlaiky F, Zekraoui A, Abouqal R. Violence toward physicians in emergency departments of Morocco: prevalence, predictive factors, and psychological impact. Journal of Occupational Medicine and Toxicology. 2010;5(1):27.

Lee S-hS, Gerberich SG, Waller LA, Anderson A, McGovern P. Work-related assault injuries among nurses. Epidemiology. 1999:685-91.

Marx J, Walls R, Hockberger R. Rosen's Emergency Medicine-Concepts and Clinical Practice E-Book: Elsevier Health Sciences; 2013.

Sadrabad AZ, Bidarizerehpoosh F, Farahmand Rad R, Kariman H, Hatamabadi H, Alimohammadi H. Residents’ Experiences of Abuse and Harassment in Emergency Departments. Journal of interpersonal violence. 2016:0886260516645575.

Ayranci U. Violence toward health care workers in emergency departments in west Turkey. The Journal of Emergency Medicine. 2005;28(3):361-5.

Samir N, Mohamed R, Moustafa E, Abou Saif H. Nurses' attitudes and reactions to workplace violence in obstetrics and gynaecology departments in Cairo hospitals. Eastern Mediterranean health journal = La revue de sante de la Mediterranee orientale = al-Majallah al-sihhiyah li-sharq al-mutawassit. 2012;18(3):198-204.

Lavoie FW, Carter GL, Danzl DF, Berg RL. Emergency department violence in United States teaching hospitals. Annals of emergency medicine. 1988;17(11):1227-33.

Şenuzun Ergün F, Karadakovan A. Violence towards nursing staff in emergency departments in one Turkish city. International nursing review. 2005;52(2):154-60.

Salimi J, Ezazi A. Workplace violence against nursing personnel of nonpsych-iatric emergency wards. Sci J Forens Med. 2006;12(4):202-9.

Rafati R, Zabihi A, Hosseini J. Study of nurses exposed to verbal and physical violence in hospitals. J School Nurs Midwife. 2012;17(12):5-11.

Cheraghi MA, Noghan N, Moghimbeygi A, Bikmoradi A. Analysis of intensive care nurses' workplace violence. Iran J Crit Care Nurs. 2012;5(2):87-94.

Gacki-Smith J, Juarez AM, Boyett L, Homeyer C, Robinson L, MacLean SL. Violence against nurses working in US emergency departments. Journal of Nursing Administration. 2009;39(7/8):340-9.

Hegney D, Eley R, Plank A, Buikstra E, Parker V. Workplace violence in Queensland, Australia: The results of a comparative study. International journal of nursing practice. 2006;12(4):220-31.

Alimohammadi H, Sadrabad AZ, Bidarizerehpoosh F, Derakhshanfar H, Shahrami A. Residents’ experiences in dealing with abuse in emergency department: a survey in Iran hospitals. Emerg Med J. 2013;30(9):732-4.

Hasani A, Zaheri M, Abbasi M, Saeedi H, Hosseini M, Fathi M. Incidence Rate of physical and verbal violence inflicted by patients and their companions on the emergency department staff of Hazrate-e-Rasoul hospital in the fourth trimester of the year 1385. Razi Journal of Medical Sciences. 2010;16(67):46-51.

Rahmani A, Dadashzade A, Akbari M, Allahbakhshian A. Assessing workplace violence toward EMS'personnel in prehospital settings of East Azerbaijan Province. Scientific Journal of Forensic Medicine 2009;15(2):100-7.

Moshtaq EZ, Saeedi M, Abedsaeedi Z, Alavimajd H, Najafi AZ. Violence toward nurses at emergency rooms (ERs) of hospitals of Medical Universities in Tehran. Journal of Shahid Beheshti Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery. 2012;22(77):32-8.

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.

Adib SM, Al-Shatti AK, Kamal S, El-Gerges N, Al-Raqem M. Violence against nurses in healthcare facilities in Kuwait. International journal of nursing studies. 2002;39(4):469-78.

  • Abstract Viewed: 434 times
  • PDF Downloaded: 254 times
  • HTML Downloaded: 104 times

Download Statastics

Make a Submission

Make a Submission

SJR

SCImago Journal & Country Rank

COPE

Current Issue

Information