Prevalence and correlates of bullying in physiotherapy education in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Bullying is an unexpressed part and parcel of medical education but it is largely unexplored in physiotherapy. This study assessed the prevalence and socio-demographic correlates of bullying in physiotherapy education in Nigeria. Methods: Two hundred and nineteen clinical physiotherapy students from three purposively selected Federal Universities in Nigeria participated in this study. Following a cross-sectional design, the Students Perception of Professor Bullying Questionnaire (SPPBQ) was used to obtain information on bullying. The SPPBQ includes a working definition of lecturer bullying followed by other sections inquiring about lecturers bullying experiences. Data was collected on socio-demographic characteristics, bullying experiences and availability of adequate policy and support on bullying. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used analyze data. Alpha level was set at p < 0.05. Results: Lifetime and point prevalence of bullying in physiotherapy education were 98.6 and 99.1%. 94.5% of the respondents had witnessed physiotherapy students bullying and there was a 100% rate of 'no attempt' to stop a physiotherapy lecturer from bullying. 38.4 and 44.7% of the respondents believed there was adequate school policy and support available on bullying. There was no significant association between bullying and each of age ( 2 = 0.117, p = 0.943), gender ( 2 = 0.001, p = 0.974), level of study ( 2 = 0.000, p = 0.995) and any specific university ( 2 = 1.343, p = 0.511). Conclusion: There is high lifetime and point prevalence of bullying in physiotherapy education in Nigeria, which are largely unchallenged or redressed. Being a clinical physiotherapy student ordinarily predisposes to bullying without necessary contributions of intrinsic and extrinsic factors.

Overlooking workplace violence in health workforce planning in sub‐Saharan Africa

“…In fact, workplace violence is associated directly with higher incidence of HCW burnout, lower patient safety, and with greater risk of adverse events. [1][2][3] In sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), studies on violence against HCW (VHCW) in the workplace have been reported from several countries: Congo, 4 Ethiopia, [5][6][7] Gambia, 8 Ghana, [9][10][11] Malawi, 12 Mozambique, [13][14][15][16][17][18] Nigeria, [19][20][21][22][23][24] Rwanda, 25 South Africa. [26][27][28][29] These reports demonstrate the endemic dimension of the phenomenon, the negative impact on HCW and services, the high level of tolerance to violence, a lack of mechanisms to report the problem and the absence of policies to deal or adequately respond to violence occurrences in health care settings.…”

Situações de bullying no contexto universitário: percepções de estudantes de um curso de fonoaudiologia

“…Os resultados do presente estudo evidenciaram a presença de bullying no contexto universitário de graduandos do Curso de Fonoaudiologia, uma vez que 59 alunos (62,7%) afirmaram já terem identificado situações que podem ser definidas como bullying. Estudos realizados em escolas médicas e em escolas de saúde ao redor do mundo verificaram a grande prevalência de bullying entre pares, dessa forma evidenciando a necessidade urgente da criação de medidas para intervir nessa realidade 14,15,16 .…”

Violence against health care workers in the workplace in Mozambique – An unrecognised managerial priority

“…In sub-Saharan Africa ( SSA ), studies on violence against healthcare workers ( VHCW ) have been reported from several countries: Congo, 1 Ethiopia, [2][3][4] Gambia, 5 Ghana, [6][7][8] Malawi, 9 Nigeria, [10][11][12][13][14][15] Rwanda, 16 South Africa. [17][18][19][20][21][22] Nevertheless, in most SSA countries the situation is not known and in those with studies only four ( Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria and South Africa ) have more than one published study.…”