Violence Against Doctors Working in Paediatric Hospitals in Khartoum State, Sudan: Frequency and Risk Factors

Abstract

Background: Healthcare workplace violence (WPV) is under-reported, universal and it is not given enough attention in medical education and continuing professional development (CPD). Incidents originated from multiple factors related to the patient, doctor, and organization. Effective training and awareness are key corners to tackling the problem. Objectives: To study the frequency and risk factors of violence among doctors working in paediatric hospitals in Khartoum state. Methodology: Descriptive cross-sectional study in 4 paediatric hospitals in Khartoum state in 2021, involving 189 doctors. Data was collected using a semi-structured, self-administrated questionnaire. Results: It was found that 152 (80.4%) were females and 37 (19.6%) were males. Violence has been encountered by 65.6% during their entire career in paediatric medical service. 74.6% have been exposed to one or more types of violence during the past year. Out of them, 86.2% and 11.32% encountered emotional violence and physical violence respectively. 1 in 50 victims experienced sexual harassment. No association was elicited between exposure to any type of violence and gender, age, length of service, or marital status. There was a strong association between professional level and experiencing violence (p-value 0.000) and particularly emotional violence (p-value 0.000). The lesser professional experiences the more it is likely to face emotional violence. About half of emotional, physical, and sexual violence victims did not react after the event. Those who experienced physical violence have a higher frequency rate of reporting violence than participants who experienced other violent types and this reporting was mostly to the superior i.e., informally. Only 5% of the participants got training in violence prevention and management. Conclusion: Violence is common among doctors in paediatric hospitals. Attention should be paid to improving doctor-patient settings and investing in violence prevention and management education.