Violence against Physicians and Nurses in a University Hospital’s Emergency Departments in Egypt: A Cross - Sectional Study

Background: Violence against health care workers negatively affects their performance and the quality of care provided to the patients. Objective: To measure the prevalence of workplace violence against a sample of physicians and nurses in the emergency departments, to identify the victims’ responses and measures taken by the employee, and the available safety measures. Methods: A cross sectional study was carried out in a university hospital in Egypt using a modified version of the workplace violence in the health sector survey developed by ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI. A convenience sample of 178 physicians and nurses were included in the study. SPSS version 23 was used for statistical analysis. Results: 178 physicians and nurses participated in the study (16.3% nurses, 39.3% interns, 44.4% physicians), 57.5% of them were females and 76.1% were single.  During the 12 months before the survey, 62.4 % of the participants faced verbal violence, followed by physical violence (19.7 %) and sexual harassment (10.7%). The main perpetrator in all three types of violence was the patients’ relatives. The main response to physical and verbal violence was calling the security (55.2% and 38.0% respectively) while in sexual violence was telling the person to stop (36.8%). The main procedures available to protect against violence were the presence of security measures (74.9%) and the presence of special equipment or clothing (79.4%). Physicians and nurses of older age and longer duration of work were at higher risk to physical and verbal abuse. Nurses were at higher risk of being attacked physically while physicians were at higher risk of verbal Violence. Conclusion: Violence against health care workers is prevalent in emergency departments. This research data highlight that there is an urgent need for more effort and policies to protect the emergency staff.