Empathy With Patients and Post-Traumatic Stress Response in Verbally Abused Healthcare Workers

Abstract

Objective The current study examined the differential empathic capacity, post-traumatic symptoms, and coping strategies in healthcare workers (HCWs) according to the exposure of verbal or physical workplace violence (WPV).Methods Using online survey, a total of 422 HCWs employed at a training general hospital of South Korea participated and completed self-reporting questionnaires including the WPV questionnaire with coping strategy, the Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy.Results Those who experienced either only verbal violence or both physical and verbal violence had lower Jefferson Scale of Physician Empathy scores (p<0.05). Posttraumatic stress symptom severity was higher among people who experienced verbal violence than physical violence. HCWs’ exposure to verbal violence was associated with severe posttraumatic symptoms and a low level of empathy with patients (p<0.05). More than half of the victims of verbal violence responded that they did not take any action, receive organizational protection, or peer support, while most physically-abused HCWs received institutional intervention or help from others.Conclusion Our findings highlight the critical importance of reducing verbal violence, which may represent a larger psychological burden compared to physical violence, by actively implementing effective strategies and policies at the institutional level.

Aggression, Micro-aggression, and Abuse Against Health Care Providers During the COVID-19 Pandemic. A Latin American Survey

“…The negative psychologic consequences of HCP after a violent episode are significant and lead even to consideration of quitting practice in the third part of responders. This issue has been pointed out previously 25 , 26 , 27 . Accordingly, Gillespie et al found that almost 60% of emergency department workers experienced posttraumatic stress symptomatology after verbal or physical aggression 25 .…”

“…In this study, nearly one in three participants experienced post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms. A study by Nam et al evaluated 422 health care workers who experienced verbal or physical violence in a training general hospital in South Korea 26 . They found that WPV was significantly associated with lower empathy with patients.…”

Mental health symptoms and their associated factors among pharmacists in psychiatric hospitals during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Most healthcare workers who experienced physical violence receive institutional or peer support. In contrast, more than half of healthcare workers who experienced verbal violence claimed that they did not receive organizational protection or peer support, which may lead to more severe post-traumatic symptoms (Nam et al, 2021). We suspect that this may be related to challenges in obtaining evidence of verbal violence, while overt physical violence is usually punished, and relevant legal institutions usually award compensation or even bear criminal punishment.…”

Characteristics and Influencing Factors of Post-Traumatic Growth: A Cross-Sectional Study of Psychiatric Nurses Suffering from Workplace Violence in Guangdong China

“…Psychiatric nurses might decrease their empathy towards patients due to a lack of energy and emotion. 22 …”