Epidemiology of violence against medical practitioners in a developing country (2006-2017)

Abstract

Aim: Incidents of vandalism on doctors is increasing by alarming rate. It has been observed in all types of government and private set ups. This trend is observed pan India as well as globally. Methods: A descriptive analysis of reported data on vandalism on doctors from the Google search engine, all national and local news websites of the last 11 years from January 2006 to May 2017. Results: The number of cases reported was counted yearly which showed a remarkable increase in crime against doctors. Majority of the cases have been reported in media from Delhi and Maharashtra in the last 11 years. Out of 100 cases reported majority were witnessed in 2015 and 2016 (17 each) and followed by 2017 (14). Majority of the males suffered grievous injury (52.1%); this distribution was statistically significant (P = 0.001). The night shift contributed higher proportion of grievous injuries (52.9%) (P = 0.003). Conclusion: The source of this intolerance toward health-care providers stems from unlimited expectation (magic cure) from doctors on the one hand and unjustified expectation and limited health education of patients and their caregivers (attendants and bystanders) led them to believe that medical science has a curative solution for all the health problems even in the resource-rich settings.