Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India
Introduction: Workplace violence is a significant global issue, particularly in high-risk environments such as emergency departments (EDs), impacting the quality of care provision and mental health status of the healthcare professionals. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of w...
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| Format: | Article |
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Occupational Health and Safety Society of Nepal
2025-04-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/IJOSH/article/view/69926 |
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| author | Mukta Ishika Dhiman Komal Negi Prabhjot Kaur Sheetal Madyan Sonam Nechu Prabhjot Kaur Ranjana Singh Sukhpal Kaur |
| author_facet | Mukta Ishika Dhiman Komal Negi Prabhjot Kaur Sheetal Madyan Sonam Nechu Prabhjot Kaur Ranjana Singh Sukhpal Kaur |
| author_sort | Mukta |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
Introduction: Workplace violence is a significant global issue, particularly in high-risk environments such as emergency departments (EDs), impacting the quality of care provision and mental health status of the healthcare professionals. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of workplace violence and its impact on employees working in emergency departments.
Methods: 389 participants were enrolled consecutively after obtaining informed consent. A 'Workplace Violence in Healthcare Setting’ questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of workplace violence. The Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ) was used to evaluate an individual’s responses to traumatic events.
Results: About half (46%) of participants were between 30-39 years old. Maximum (53.4) were nursing officers, 17% were sanitary attendants, 12% were hospital attendants, 8.70% were doctors, 7.7% and 1.02% were security guards and lab technicians respectively. The majority of the participants (92.5%) faced verbal violence, and 25.71% encountered physical violence. Reporting to the seniors was often avoided due to perceived inaction, time concerns, and fear of career repercussions. Participants recommended providing education to the public, and improvements in healthcare facilities and infrastructure. The majority of the participants felt unrealistic expectations of the patients, inappropriate knowledge about disease conditions, lack of resources, overcrowding, and long waiting times as the responsible factors for workplace violence.
Conclusion: Workplace violence in hospitals is linked to overcrowding, long waiting times, inadequate knowledge, and a lack of redressal systems. It may hamper care quality and staff morale. Preventive strategies include better resource management, communication skills, public education, infrastructure improvements, self-defense training, legislative measures, and effective complaint systems.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2514c083bbe04a539901d60b4baf0f85 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2738-9707 2091-0878 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | Occupational Health and Safety Society of Nepal |
| record_format | Article |
| series | International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health |
| spelling | doaj-art-2514c083bbe04a539901d60b4baf0f852025-08-20T03:16:01ZengOccupational Health and Safety Society of NepalInternational Journal of Occupational Safety and Health2738-97072091-08782025-04-0115210.3126/ijosh.v15i2.69926Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North IndiaMukta0https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0138-6948Ishika Dhiman1https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7315-0437Komal Negi2https://orcid.org/0009-0006-5516-4784Prabhjot Kaur3https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1982-7537Sheetal Madyan4https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0556-2262Sonam Nechu5https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5767-8969Prabhjot Kaur6https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7829-3198Ranjana Singh7https://orcid.org/0009-0007-8021-5165Sukhpal Kaur8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3724-1310National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education, PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education, PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education, PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaDepartment of Hospital Administration, PGIMER, Chandigarh, IndiaNational Institute of Nursing Education, PGIMER, Chandigarh, India Introduction: Workplace violence is a significant global issue, particularly in high-risk environments such as emergency departments (EDs), impacting the quality of care provision and mental health status of the healthcare professionals. The objective of this study was to assess the prevalence of workplace violence and its impact on employees working in emergency departments. Methods: 389 participants were enrolled consecutively after obtaining informed consent. A 'Workplace Violence in Healthcare Setting’ questionnaire was used to assess the prevalence of workplace violence. The Trauma Screening Questionnaire (TSQ) was used to evaluate an individual’s responses to traumatic events. Results: About half (46%) of participants were between 30-39 years old. Maximum (53.4) were nursing officers, 17% were sanitary attendants, 12% were hospital attendants, 8.70% were doctors, 7.7% and 1.02% were security guards and lab technicians respectively. The majority of the participants (92.5%) faced verbal violence, and 25.71% encountered physical violence. Reporting to the seniors was often avoided due to perceived inaction, time concerns, and fear of career repercussions. Participants recommended providing education to the public, and improvements in healthcare facilities and infrastructure. The majority of the participants felt unrealistic expectations of the patients, inappropriate knowledge about disease conditions, lack of resources, overcrowding, and long waiting times as the responsible factors for workplace violence. Conclusion: Workplace violence in hospitals is linked to overcrowding, long waiting times, inadequate knowledge, and a lack of redressal systems. It may hamper care quality and staff morale. Preventive strategies include better resource management, communication skills, public education, infrastructure improvements, self-defense training, legislative measures, and effective complaint systems. https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/IJOSH/article/view/69926Employees, Healthcare, Violence, Workplace |
| spellingShingle | Mukta Ishika Dhiman Komal Negi Prabhjot Kaur Sheetal Madyan Sonam Nechu Prabhjot Kaur Ranjana Singh Sukhpal Kaur Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India International Journal of Occupational Safety and Health Employees, Healthcare, Violence, Workplace |
| title | Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India |
| title_full | Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India |
| title_fullStr | Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India |
| title_full_unstemmed | Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India |
| title_short | Causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in North India |
| title_sort | causes of workplace violence and preventive strategies in a tertiary care hospital in north india |
| topic | Employees, Healthcare, Violence, Workplace |
| url | https://www.nepjol.info/index.php/IJOSH/article/view/69926 |
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