A cross–sectional study on the prevalence and associated risk factors for workplace violence against Chinese nurses

Abstract

ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to explore the characteristics of workplace violence that Chinese nurses at tertiary and county–level hospitals encountered in the 12 months from December 2014 to January 2016, to identify and analyse risk factors for workplace violence, and to establish the basis for future preventive strategies.DesignA cross–sectional study.SettingA total of 44 tertiary hospitals and 90 county–level hospitals in 16 provinces (municipalities or autonomous regions) in China.MethodsWe used stratified random sampling to collect data from December 2014 to January 2016. We distributed 21 360 questionnaires, and 15 970 participants provided valid data (effective response rate=74.77%). We conducted binary logistic regression analyses on the risk factors for workplace violence among the nurses in our sample and analysed the reasons for aggression.ResultsThe prevalence of workplace violence was 65.8%; of this, 64.9% was verbal violence, and physical violence and sexual harassment accounted for 11.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Frequent workplace violence occurred primarily in emergency and paediatric departments. Respondents reported that patients’ relatives were the main perpetrators in tertiary and county–level hospitals. Logistic regression analysis showed that respondents’ age, department, years of experience and direct contact with patients were common risk factors at different levels of hospitals.ConclusionsWorkplace violence is frequent in China’s tertiary and county–level hospitals; its occurrence is especially frequent in the emergency and paediatric departments. It is necessary to cope with workplace violence by developing effective control strategies at individual, hospital and national levels.

Prevalence of medical workplace violence and the shortage of secondary and tertiary interventions among healthcare workers in China

“…In another study, 106 of 840 general practitioners and nurses in Heilongjiang province (Northeast China) reported physical assault in the past 12 months, with 62.3% of the perpetrators being the patients’ relatives and 22.6% being the patients themselves 8. A most recent cross-sectional study with nurses (n=15, 970) in 44 tertiary hospitals and 90 county-level hospitals from 16 provinces in China reported that the prevalence of MWV was 65.8%, which including verbal violence (64.9%), physical violence (11.8%) and sexual harassment (3.9%) 9. One study conducted in Macau in 2014 showed that 18.1%, 56%, 14.5% and 4.7% of nurses (n=613) and 3.7%, 38.3%, 12.1% and 3.7% of doctors (n=107) experienced physical assault, verbal abuse, bullying, and sexual harassment in the preceding year, respectively 10.…”

Doctor becomes a patient: a qualitative study of health care work place violence related perception among junior doctors working in a teaching hospital in India

“…10,47 Individuals or gangs thriving on arm-twisting for reducing the health care costs and obtaining commission from the patients are known as -Yi Nao‖ in China (literally meaning hospitaldisturbance). 20,22,26,28 A 2006 survey of 270 tertiary hospitals reported that over 73% of the participating hospitals had experienced Yi Nao gangs which consist largely of unemployed people with a designated leader. These incidences had nearly doubled from 9831 in 2006 to 17,243 in 2010.…”

“…Patients and their relatives may use illegal organizations in order to arm-twist the hospitals for compensation, rather than use the normal legal procedures. 26,28 Zero protection for doctors and lack of security provisions was yet another important concern. A descriptive cross sectional study on security related perceptions of HCPs in a district hospital of South Africa has highlighted the following causes of HCWPV: inadequate security staff, poorly equipped security personnel, deficient screening of visitors and lack of confidence in the capacity and ability of security staff to ensure a safe environment.…”

“…[10][11][12][13][14][15] Considerably greater number of recent research studies on HCWPV belongs to China. [16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30] In other parts of the world also, several studies have been conducted. [31][32][33][34][35][36][37] By means of their all India surveys, Indian Medical Association (IMA) have reported that 75% doctors had experienced violence and 82.7% felt stressed out.…”

Problemas de saúde entre profissionais de enfermagem e fatores relacionados

“…Prevalencias de violencia en el trabajo en dirección a los profesionales de enfermería de ambientes de emergencia también son frecuentemente registradas en la literatura (4,(19)(20) , así como el impacto de estos eventos a la salud de los trabajadores que fueron víctimas (21) . El estudio actual fortalece la relación entre violencia en el trabajo y aspectos de salud del trabajador al identificar que las víctimas presentaban número medio mayor de problemas de salud de lo que las no víctimas.…”