Violence Against Doctors- An Overview

Abstract

BACKGROUNDThese days violence against doctors is in the news frequently. Many reports concerning medical professionals of being assaulted, even killed by patients' disgruntled relatives. This violence is not limited to India, but situation seems to be similar in other countries all over the world. Among the various professions, medical professionals are among the most commonly being subjected to violence. Psychological distress is common in medical professionals who have experienced violence like depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, agoraphobia and even a level of fear and/or anxiety that can cause work absenteeism. When we think how we can get rid of this situation, we must remember that practice of medicine is really about providing service, not just science. It is basically a combination of art, science and professionalism. The fundamentals of medicine are to care people with respect and dignity that are aimed at helping the sick through healing, alleviating suffering. This role of physician must be guided by the codes of ethics.

Violence Against Physicians in the Workplace: Trends, Causes, Consequences, and Strategies for Intervention

“…In this regard, loss of occupational performance has been reported as the most common result of exposure to violence, with changes in attitudes and decision making and increase of defensive medicine behavior (e.g., excessive prescriptions of drugs and investigations, inappropriate referrals, and consultation requests) [ 89 , 90 ].…”

Community members speak –“Why are healthcare personnel subjected to disrespect and violence?”

“…They labeled the common public as “terrorists” in the health sector and described this as an unacceptable act in a civilized society. Another study done in India also reported lack of skilled human resources, financial insecurities, inflation, poverty, unsafe work environment and no provision of guidance to attendants as reasons for disrespect and violence on HCP (Mittal and Garg, 2017). Issue of lack of skilled human resources, malfunctioning primary and secondary health centers coupled with ghost employees results in the overburdening of patients at tertiary healthcare centers.…”

Aile Sağlığı Merkezinde Sağlık Çalışanlarına Şiddet

“…Çevresel faktörler arasında bekleme süreleri, yoğun hasta kalabalığı, güvenlik konuları ile ilgili konular yer alabilir.ĠletiĢim faktörleri bağlamında ise kiĢiler arası iletiĢim, sağlık çalıĢanlarının tutumu ile hasta ve yakınlarının korkuları ve hassasiyetleri önemlidir. Ayrıca sağlık çalıĢanlarına yönelik Ģiddetin nedenleri arasında hekim, hasta, medya, hukuk, ekonomik ve sosyal faktörler de önemli rol oynamaktadır(17,18). SağlıkMeyad Akademi, Cilt:5 Sayı:1 Yıl:2024 Sayfa: 37-49 Sağlık Çalışanlarına Şiddet 43 aile hekiminden alıp, aynı aile sağlığı merkezindeki en az hasta sayısı olan aile hekimine aktarmaktadır.…”