Prevalence and prevention of workplace aggression in Australian clinical medical practice

Abstract

Many Australian doctors experience workplace aggression. The more widespread adoption of measures that support the prevention and minimisation of aggression in medical practice settings appears necessary.

Quality in Australian after‐hours doctor home visits: exploring the clinical, professional and security supports available to involved practitioners

“…The other form of support being explored is security support. This includes the ability to acquire help if the doctor feels threatened (whether verbal, physical, sexual or otherwise), and for office‐based doctors, such help can be in the form of panic buttons or alarms, as well as the presence of security staff, chaperones or work colleagues when the need arises . These same security strategies, or their modifications, can also be useful in AHHC, and a recent study actually did find that possession of these protective measures is associated with increased satisfaction and decreased burnout for doctors involved in AHHC.…”

“…This includes the ability to acquire help if the doctor feels threatened (whether verbal, physical, sexual or otherwise), and for office-based doctors, such help can be in the form of panic buttons or alarms, as well as the presence of security staff, chaperones or work colleagues when the need arises. [8,9] These same security strategies, or their modifications, can also be useful in AHHC, and a recent study actually did find that possession of these protective measures is associated with increased satisfaction [10] and decreased burnout [11] for doctors involved in AHHC. Both satisfaction and burnout affect work outcomes and productivity [12], including healthcare-related ones, and given their relationships with protective or security measures as already cited [10,11], it is important to explore how well-supported doctors involved in AHHC feel with regards to them.…”

Workplace abuse among correctional health professionals in New South Wales, Australia

“…[1][2][3][4] Unfortunately, however, workplace abuse directed at front line health professionals is a common problem in several countries, [5][6][7][8][9][10][11] including Australia. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20] A recent systematic review of studies of the prevalence of patient-initiated abuse perpetrated against Australian general practitioners found 12 month period prevalence ratios ranging from 48 to 64%. 15 Similarly, a large study of nurses who were practising in Tasmania found a 1 month period prevalence of 64%.…”

Violence against physicians in training. A Romanian perspective

“…The physicians in training are more exposed to this phenomenon due to: a defective training in violence management, 36 inadequacies regarding the identification of violent and pre-violent acts and behaviors, 35 difficulties in directing their attention to the anxiety and fears aroused when dealing with a violent patient, 37 difficulties in identifying the needs of patients with violent behaviors, the misconception that residens must "suck it up" (abuse and harassment is considered part of the job), 4 difficulties in reporting harassment/abuse, or not knowing where to go to report it, 4 fear of reprisal, 4 misconception that nothing can be done to minimize this phenomenon. 4 Differences between the aggressive acts in different specialties depends mainly upon the particularities of the patients and their medical conditions 24 ; however there are other causes that may influence the frequency of violent behavior, amongst which are cited: alcohol drinking (increased aggressiveness), often present in the ER, type of institution (for example university clinics are significantly less exposed to physical aggression compared to general hospitals), 38 aggressive behaviors from the superiors that increase irritability and stress, and therefore diminish the capacity to interact with the patient, 38,39 the severity of the disease, 2 type of medical care, 27,40 type and nature of the contact with the patients 28,41 , 24 . In our study psychiatry trainees are also put at a high risk, especially by patients with acute disorders.…”