Dealing with workplace violence in emergency primary health care: a focus group study

Abstract

BackgroundPrevention and management of workplace violence among health workers has been described in different health care settings. However, little is known about which phenomena the emergency primary health care (EPC) organization should attend to in their strategies for preventing and managing it. In the current study, we therefore explored how EPC personnel have dealt with threats and violence from visitors or patients, focusing on how organizational factors affected the incidents.MethodsA focus group study was performed with a sample of 37 nurses and physicians aged 25–69 years. Eight focus group interviews were conducted, and the participants were invited to talk about their experiences of violence in EPC. Analysis was conducted by systematic text condensation, searching for themes describing the participants’ experiences.ResultsFour main themes emerged for anticipating or dealing with incidents of threats or violence within the system: (1) minimizing the risk of working alone, (2) being prepared, (3) resolving the mismatch between patient expectations and the service offered, and (4) supportive manager response.ConclusionOur study shows a potential for development of better organizational strategies for protecting EPC personnel who are at risk from workplace violence.

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

“…Several cross sectional surveys have been conducted in various parts of the world, but surprisingly, qualitative (perception) studies have scarcely been performed. 32,33,[41][42][43] The perception of young doctors has remained almost unexplored hitherto. To our knowledge this is the first qualitative study in India which has explored the perception of young (junior) doctors regarding health care work place violence.…”

Comportamiento de médicos residentes de pediatría durante una simulación clínica de un caso de madre violenta en una emergencia pediátrica

“…23,24 Un estudio reciente realizado en Noruega a través de grupos focales detectó 4 prioridades vinculadas con el sistema para ayudar en el manejo de la agresión: 1. minimizar el riesgo de trabajar solo; 2. estar preparado (tomar precauciones frente a los signos de alerta y estar capacitado); 3. reducir la diferencia entre las expectativas del paciente y lo que el sistema le puede ofrecer; y 4. el respaldo de las autoridades (especialmente, el seguimiento después del episodio). 25 Q u e r e m o s r e s a l t a r l a i m p o r t a n c i a d e reflexionar acerca de esta situación, ya que, por un lado, especialmente el personal de enfermería asume la agresión recibida como parte natural de la tarea y no reporta la mayoría de los casos. 26 Por otro lado, se aumenta la vigilancia o se restringe el acceso a los sectores críticos sin considerar, además, el rol de la interacción personal como generador de episodios de agresión.…”

Managers’ experiences of prevention and management of workplace violence against health care staff: A descriptive exploratory study

“…Working alone increases the risk of WPV, and where the risk of violence is high, staff should not work alone (Morken, Johansen, & Alsaker, 2015;Wikman, 2014). Yet participants reported that risk assessment for home visiting services did not always reflect the true level of risk, putting staff in danger.…”