Workplace violence against nurses in the emergency departments of three hospitals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: A cross-sectional survey

Background

Emergency department nurses are continuously exposed to violence on the job.

Objectives

This study sought to identify the prevalence and pattern of workplace violence and the consequences of violence on nurses working in emergency departments in Riyadh.

Design

Cross-sectional survey conducted from April to May 2015.

Setting

Emergency departments of three hospitals in Riyadh.

Participants

Nurses participated voluntarily and anonymously.

Methods

Nurses were recruited by advertisement. A self-administered questionnaire with 23 items was given to participants by a head nurse. Violent acts were classified as physical or nonphysical. Descriptive statistics are presented and statistical comparisons were made to evaluate differences by gender, nationality, age, experience and other demographic variables.

Results

Of 150 questionnaires distributed, 121 were returned (80.6%). One hundred were females (82.6%) and 71 (58.7%) had worked in nursing for less than or equal to 5 years. Most participants (n=108, 89.3%) had experienced a violent incident in the past 12 months. Eighty (80/108, 74.1%) of those who had experienced violence had experienced verbal abuse and 20 (20/108, 18.5%) had faced verbal and physical violence during the past year. The type of violence was associated with gender and educational level. Patients (89/108, 82.4%) and their relatives (70/108, 64.8%) were the most common instigators of violence. Most nurses (78/108, 72.3%) expressed dissatisfaction with the manner in which incidents were handled.

Conclusion

Workplace violence was pervasive in the emergency departments of these three hospitals in Riyadh. The data are consistent with other reports of workplace violence in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia and in other countries.

Recommendations

Suitable strategies to deal with the issue include establishing workplace violence management teams and creating appropriate rules and regulations that can improve workplace safety for nurses, while improving patient care quality. Security systems and formulation of violence prevention policies and procedures are mandatory measures in emergency departments. In addition, training programs are needed to help support, teach and provide nurses with the knowledge and skills needed to manage violent situations in the workplace.