Workplace Violence Toward Doctors Working in Obstetrics and Gynecology Emergency Units in Khartoum North Locality, Sudan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Background and objectives: Workplace violence (WPV) is any action, incident, or behavior that deviates from appropriate conduct and results in a person getting assaulted, threatened, harmed, or injured at work. This research aimed at studying the current state of WPV among doctors working in obstetrics and gynecology (OBGYN) emergency departments (EDs) in Khartoum north locality (KNL), Sudan Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study that included 128 doctors from six governmental hospitals in KNL. A self-administered questionnaire assessing the prevalence and outcomes of WPV was distributed. The descriptive statistics and frequency tables were generated using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). Results: The respondents’ mean age was 28.3±6.6 years (range: 21-70 years). Approximately half of the respondents (49.2%) experienced WPV. Verbal WPV was the most common type (93.3%), followed by physical (10%) and sexual (3.2%) type. Patients’ relatives and friends are the most common group to commit WPV (92.9%). Night shifts were the time most WPV (58.6%) took place. The effect of WPV on respondents was mainly psychological (95.8%) compared to physical (4.2%). Conclusion: WPV prevalence among health care workers (HCWs) working in the OBGYN EDs is alarming with detrimental effects. Evaluating the current state of WPV, outcome, and associated factors will help not only address the current problem but also guide future related research.