A response to patient-initiated aggression in general practice: Australian professional medical organisations face a challenge

Abstract

Little is known about the incidence, prevalence, and impact of patient-initiated aggression against general practice staff in Australia or how medically related professional organisations respond to this. The few available Australian studies suggest that up to about two-thirds of Australian GPs experience patient-initiated aggression within a 12-month period. This paper reports on relevant professional stakeholder organisations' perceptions of and response to aggression perpetrated against their members working in Australian general practices. Thirteen organisations each nominated a representative to undertake a one-off semi-structured interview. Respondents informed the study findings from organisational, practice level, and Divisions of General Practice perspectives. While all professional organisations were cognisant of the presence of violence and aggression in Australian general practice, very few offered proactive measures in the management of difficult or aggressive patients, or practical support to their members. Organisations with fewer members involved in general practice were overall more supportive and proactive with regard to education, training, and publications than were organisations with a greater proportion of their membership involved in general practice settings. Respondents believed the current socio-political climate provided opportunity for a greater organisational response, but there was uncertainty regarding the appropriate response in view of a lack of evidence base.

Associations between Australian clinical medical practitioner exposure to workplace aggression and workforce participation intentions

“…Although few studies have directly investigated the effect of workplace aggression on medical practitioner workforce participation decisions, the results of the present research are consistent with outcomes identified in cross-profession populations, 17 nurses 9 and medical practitioners. 11,12 The findings are also consistent with the results of service sector research, such as with retail and hospitality workers, where exposure to workplace aggression has been found to present a risk to psychological and physical well being, organisational commitment and turnover intentions. 18,19 However, medical practitioners occupy a unique position in that they predominantly lead the instigation of interventions that aim to improve the health and well being of individuals and communities, in collaboration with other members of the health and social care workforce.…”

“…10 In Australian general practice, workplace aggression was perceived as having a major impact on staff retention, staff shortages and, in the long run, reduced services to local communities. 11 Meanwhile, a recent Finnish study of medical practitioners 12 found that turnover intentions were associated with violence and bullying. The aim of the present study was to determine the extent to which workplace aggression is associated with workforce participation intentions in a large sample of medical practitioners providing clinical services in range of settings in Australia.…”

Violence in the workplace: some critical issues looking at the health sector

“…This is quite revealing of what occurs in health organizations: not every professional knows of the existence of an official policy against violence; and those that do, do not trust its effectiveness. A second coincidence is provided by the study performed by Ceramidas and Parker (2010): in Australia there are not many health organizations that provide their workers with practical assistance or support in dealing with violent incidents (p. 256). It is quite possible what occurs in Australia may not constitute an exception but the norm in many other countries.…”

The Frequency of Patient-Initiated Violence and Its Psychological Impact on Physicians in China: A Cross-Sectional Study

“…Workplace violence refers to violent acts that are directed toward people at work or on duty [ 1 ]. It encompasses various types of violence, including verbal abuse (VA), aggression, harassment, bullying, and physical violence such as physical assaults (PA) and threats of assault (TA) [ 2 , 3 ]. Patient-initiated workplace violence in healthcare settings has become an increasingly serious problem in many countries [ 4 – 7 ].…”