WORK-RELATED ASSAULTS ON NURSING STAFF IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

OBJECTIVE: To determine the extent of work-related violence against nurses in hospitals in Riyadh. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Through a cross sectional approach, a self administered questionnaire was offered to 500 active-duty nurses selected randomly. In addition to the demographic characteristics, the questionnaire inquired about exposure to workplace violence, hospital and department of employment at the time of exposure, characteristics of the assailant and nurses’ perception of the causes of violence. RESULTS: Out of 434 respondents, 93 (21.4%) were males, and 341 (78.6%) females. The mean age was 36.1 ± 7.97 years. Workplace violence was experienced by 235 (54.3%) nurses. Of these 93.2% were exposed to harsh insulting language, 32.8% to verbal threat, 28.1% to attempts of physical assault, 17.4% to sexual harassment and 16.2% to actual physical assault. Nurses working in psychiatry and emergency units had the highest rate of exposure to violence (84.3% & 62.1% respectively) Nurses perceived shortage in security personnel (82%), shortage in nursing staff (63%), language barrier (36.3%) and unrestricted movement of patients in hospitals (21.5%) as causes of their exposure to violence. RECOMMENDATIONS: improve security in hospitals by increasing the number of security officers on duty and increase the community's awareness of the problem.