Violence against physicians

Abstract

Violence against medical residents and attending physicians exists and is most commonly associated with patients who are intoxicated or who have psychiatric histories.

Aggression and violence directed toward physicians

“…Words such as abuse, threats, assault, battery, combative, and hostile are used interchangeably in the violence literature. 5 Case A clearly fits the description of violence. Indeed, some data sources only collect information on "violence"-those acts that result in documentable physical injury such as fractures, lacerations, gunshot wounds, or homicide.…”

“…Of the 63 respondents, 41% reported being assaulted and 16% reported being battered at some time during their career by either a patient or a patient's relative. 5 …”

“…3 This represents almost one fourth of all workplacerelated homicides among health care workers during this time period. Physicians may also experience nonfatal violence, 4,5 verbal abuse or threats, 6,7 destruction of property, 8 or intimidation with a weapon. 9,10 Aggression and violence in the health care setting is costly on a number of levels.…”

Workplace Violence: A Survey of Emergency Physicians in the State of Michigan

“…There are several older studies about the experience of physicians in the ED outside of the United States. [2][3][4][5] Violence and assaults have also been studied among ED nurses and other ED personnel, with the conclusion that there is a significant incidence of workplace violence intrinsic to the ED. 6-10 Emergency service providers have reported substantial and significant violent behaviors.…”

Violence Against Doctors- An Overview

“…In Israel 90% of the support staff and 70% of the physicians working in a hospital emergency rooms have reported violent acts of which mostly are verbal abuse. 2,3,4,5 In Australia 58% of General Practitioners had experienced verbal abuse and 18% experienced property damage. In Kuwait 86% of doctors had experienced verbal insults or imminent threat of violence, while 28% had experienced physical attacks of which 7% reported serious or fatal injury.…”