Workplace violence among healthcare workers during COVID-19 pandemic in a Jordanian governmental hospital: the tip of the iceberg

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, significant cases of violence, intimidation, or stigmatization were targeted at healthcare workers (HCWs), patients, and medical infrastructure. These occurrences were most likely just the “tip of the iceberg,” with much more remaining unnoticed. The present study’s purpose was to assess the frequency, characteristics, effects, and contributing factors of workplace violence (WPV) committed against HCWs in AlKarak Governmental Hospital (KGH), South Jordan, during the COVID-19 pandemic. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 382 HCWs (170 physicians and 212 nurses) working in the KGH, Jordan, during January and February 2021, using a semi-structured questionnaire. The current study showed that most participants (65.5%) reported exposure to WPV, mainly verbal violence (52.0%), and patients’ relatives were the principal perpetrators in most incidents. The regular reporting of these incidents is deficient. The victims suffered psychological and physical effects. These assaults on healthcare facilities highlight the importance of effective risk communication at all levels of society to minimize anxiety, stigma, and, eventually, WPV. The way we communicate about COVID-19 is vital in motivating people to take proactive steps to fight the disease and safeguard healthcare.

Organizational safety climate and workplace violence among primary healthcare workers in Malaysia

“…However these findings were significantly lower than the prevalence reported in a recent study of WPV among HCW in Hospital Kuala Lumpur in 2017 which reported a prevalence of 71.3% [10] as well as 90% in Saudi Arabia [27]. In contrary, the observed prevalence in this study was higher than those in found in the study among HCW in HUKM (3.7%) [9], in Jordan (65.5%) [28], China (56.4%) [29], and in Saudi Arabia (28%) [30]. The lower prevalence between this study compared to the study in HKL [31] is because the later was among accident and emergency HCW's in the principle tertiary hospital in Malaysia located at the heart of the densely populated Kuala Lumpur and these factors were identified previously to be significant in predicting workplace violence [32].…”

Workplace violence against frontline clinicians in emergency departments during the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Special social support and psychological crisis interventions should be offered to ED clinicians who have family/friends/colleagues infected with COVID-19 ( Lai et al, 2020 ). In addition, health authorites should develop stragies to lower the risk of WPV by creating safe working environment, to increase clinican-patient ratio, to reduce the working hours of health workers, and to set up education and training program on prevention of WPV ( Ghareeb, El-Shafei & Eladl, 2021 ; Liu et al, 2019 ). Furthermore, as the negative effects of WPV on clinicains’ physical and psychological health and job satisfaction may persist, regular follow-up assessments on their stress level and mental health should be conducted ( Byon et al, 2021 ; Gu et al, 2021 ; Pan et al, 2020 ).…”

Prevalence of Workplace Violence Against Healthcare Workers During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…In the first 6 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, more than 600 cases of intimidation and stigma against nurses were reported in 40 countries. The incident was most likely only the “tip of the iceberg”, and many of these incidents have not been reported for various reasons (Ghareeb et al, 2021 ). Therefore, some humanitarian organizations have urged governments to protect HCWs during the COVID-19 pandemic by enacting laws, creating safer work conditions, providing mental health assistance, and combating misinformation (Devi, 2020 ).…”