Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study

Abstract

ObjectivesIn this study, the frequency and consequences of aggressive assaults on employees in the German healthcare and welfare system were investigated.DesignA retrospective cross-sectional study.SettingEmployees in the German healthcare system and their experiences of violence and aggression were examined in this study.ParticipantsThe sample consisted of 1973 employees from 39 facilities (6 facilities for the disabled, 6 hospitals and 27 outpatient and inpatient geriatric care facilities) who have regular contact with patients or clients.Main outcome measuresThe frequency of physical and verbal violence towards employees and the consequences of aggressive assaults were analysed.Results56% of respondents had experienced physical violence and 78% verbal aggression. The highest frequency of physical violence was in inpatient geriatric care (63%) (p=0.000). Younger workers run a higher risk of being affected by physical violence than older colleagues (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.4). There is also an increased risk of experiencing physical violence in inpatient geriatric care (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0). Around a third of workers feel seriously stressed by the violence experienced. The better the facility trained employees for dealing with aggressive and violent clients, the less risk employees ran of experiencing either verbal aggression (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.7) or physical violence (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9). Training by the facility has a positive effect on experienced stress (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.8).ConclusionsViolence towards nursing and healthcare personnel occurs frequently. Every third respondent feels severely stressed by violence and aggression. Occupational support provisions to prevent and provide aftercare for cases of violence and aggression reduce the risk of incidents and of perceived stress. Research is needed on occupational support provisions that reduce the risk of staff experiencing verbal and physical violence and the stress that is associated with it.

Workplace violence against medical staff of Chinese children's hospitals: A cross-sectional study

“…We found that males were more likely to suffer WPV than females, which is consistent with some previous studies [18, 38, 39]. We also found that physicians were more vulnerable to non-physical violence than nurses, which is consistent with some previous studies [18, 37, 40], though others provided evidence of the opposite [38, 41]. The reason is that the ratio of children to pediatricians in China is 2,300 to 1 [24, 26], so obviously there are not enough pediatricians; each doctor initially examines children for an average of just 5 minutes [42].…”

Psychological stress and strain on employees in dialysis facilities: a cross-sectional study with the Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire

“…In a qualitative study, Murphy reported that most employees had suffered verbal and physical aggression during their working lives [18]. The comparison between dialysis staff and hospital nurses led to the following picture: Schablon et al recorded that 79% of hospital nurses had suffered verbal aggression [33]. This is consistent with the percentage (72%) in the present study.…”

Coping with interpersonal mistreatment: the role of emotion regulation strategies and supervisor support

“…Schablon et al . () showed that health‐care providers who were trained to handle aggression were at less risk for becoming a target of both physical and verbal violence from patients. Such training programmes should also include training in emotion regulation, so that employees acquire information and tools on how to accomplish deep acting through positive refocusing and perspective taking.…”