Workplace violence against emergency department nurses in Oman: a cross‐sectional multi‐institutional study

Abstract

AimTo examine the prevalence, characteristics and factors associated with workplace violence against emergency department nurses in Oman.BackgroundViolence against healthcare professionals, including nurses, is a global public health problem. Understanding the epidemiology of violence is crucial for the implementation of appropriate preventative and management policies.MethodsWe conducted a multi‐centre cross‐sectional study in February 2019 utilizing a widely employed self‐report questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. We invited all emergency department nurses working in four governmental hospitals in Al‐Sharqiyah and Al‐Dakhiliyah Governorates of Oman to participate in the study.ResultsOf the 103 respondents, most were Omani (57.3%), female (73.8%), and 30 years or older (65%). The majority (87.4%) were exposed to violence in the past 12 months, and non‐physical violence (84.5%) was over fourfold greater than physical violence (18.4%). Most physical and non‐physical incidents took place during weekends (68.4% and 82.8%, respectively) and in the afternoon or night shifts (78.9‬% and 93.1%, respectively), and family members and visitors were the most common perpetrators of violence (62.6% physical and 66.7% non‐physical). Non‐Omani nurses (P = 0.03) and those with education less than a bachelor’s degree (P = 0.007) were less likely to experience physical violence.Discussion/ConclusionWorkplace violence is highly prevalent among emergency department nurses in Oman. Future studies should investigate violent incident reporting, and the causes and consequences of workplace violence on nurses’ psychological and physical well‐being, work functioning and the quality of care provided to patients.Implications for Nursing PolicyThe high prevalence of workplace violence is alarming and demonstrates the need for additional interventions to reduce violence and limit its consequences on healthcare professionals and patients’ quality of care. Findings from this study can be used to implement changes in existing anti‐violence policies.

<p>Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019</p>

“…14 Higher levels of awareness about the presence of a reporting system (80.6%) and how to use it (81.6%) were found in a study conducted among nurses in emergency departments in Oman. 28 This could be, as reported by the same study's participants, due to the presence of policies for violence prevention (38.8%) and training on workplace violence (42.7%). 28 The present study has some limitations.…”

“…28 This could be, as reported by the same study's participants, due to the presence of policies for violence prevention (38.8%) and training on workplace violence (42.7%). 28 The present study has some limitations. The selfadministered questionnaire may have been subject to recall bias.…”

An integrative review of waiting time, queuing, and design as contributory factors to emergency department violence

“…In terms of the nature of ED violence, while the exploration of reasons for ED violence has largely focused on the behaviours or characteristics of individual ED patients 46 or their accompaniment, 5,47 this review explores for the first time the important contribution of the ED environment to violence.…”

Violencia en el trabajo hacia los profesionales de enfermería en los servicios de emergencias: revisión integrativa

“…Sin embargo, y al parecer, las estrategias definidas en las Directrices Marco para gestionar y hacer frente a la violencia no han ayudado a las víctimas frente a estas agresiones (3), ya que la alta prevalencia de la violencia sigue siendo similar una década después (87,4%), lo que queda demostrado en el trabajo de Al-Maskari SA y cols. del 2020 (32). Para contribuir con estas instituciones, desde el punto de vista de la investigación científica y que aparece como limitaciones inherentes de esta revisión, es que las investigaciones empleen instrumentos uniformes, validados y confiables para comparar el evento en estudio, pues el propósito de una revisión sistemática es integrar y evaluar evidencias (9,12,14,15,17,21,24).…”