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Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019

PURPOSE: Workplace violence is common throughout the world. It causes many serious problems in the healthcare sector, where it significantly impacts healthcare workers, the services provided, and organizations as a whole. However, few studies have investigated these issues in Saudi Arabia. This stud...

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Autores principales: Alsmael, Mustafa M, Gorab, Ali H, AlQahtani, Areej M
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Dove 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7519877/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33061534
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S267446
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author Alsmael, Mustafa M
Gorab, Ali H
AlQahtani, Areej M
author_facet Alsmael, Mustafa M
Gorab, Ali H
AlQahtani, Areej M
author_sort Alsmael, Mustafa M
collection PubMed
description PURPOSE: Workplace violence is common throughout the world. It causes many serious problems in the healthcare sector, where it significantly impacts healthcare workers, the services provided, and organizations as a whole. However, few studies have investigated these issues in Saudi Arabia. This study examined the prevalence of violence against healthcare workers at primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study also assessed the types, perpetrators, perceived causes, and consequences related to such violence. Here, the aim was to understand how healthcare workers responded to violence and gauge their awareness of a reporting system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 360 healthcare workers (180 each from primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar) were invited to complete structured, self-administered questionnaires. As such, this study employed a cross-sectional analytical design. RESULTS: The prevalence of workplace violence among all participating health workers was 46.9%, with approximately 90% of these workers reporting verbal violence, 34.3% having been subject to intimidation, and 3% reporting physical violence. Approximately 75% reported that violent events were initiated by patients, while 45.6% reported that the events were initiated by patients’ companions. Healthcare workers’ reactions included reporting events to their supervisors or the police, but 46.7% said they did nothing; the most common reason was perceived inefficacy. Finally, only 36.4% of all participants were aware of a violence reporting system. CONCLUSION: This study showed that healthcare workers were commonly exposed to different forms of violence, but often either did not react to it or did not report it. Further, there was relatively little awareness of how to manage and report workplace violence, thus indicating the need for healthcare workers to receive relevant education and training. A national program should also be established to track and prevent workplace violence.
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spelling pubmed-75198772020-10-14 Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019 Alsmael, Mustafa M Gorab, Ali H AlQahtani, Areej M Int J Gen Med Original Research PURPOSE: Workplace violence is common throughout the world. It causes many serious problems in the healthcare sector, where it significantly impacts healthcare workers, the services provided, and organizations as a whole. However, few studies have investigated these issues in Saudi Arabia. This study examined the prevalence of violence against healthcare workers at primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The study also assessed the types, perpetrators, perceived causes, and consequences related to such violence. Here, the aim was to understand how healthcare workers responded to violence and gauge their awareness of a reporting system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 360 healthcare workers (180 each from primary care centers in Dammam and Al Khobar) were invited to complete structured, self-administered questionnaires. As such, this study employed a cross-sectional analytical design. RESULTS: The prevalence of workplace violence among all participating health workers was 46.9%, with approximately 90% of these workers reporting verbal violence, 34.3% having been subject to intimidation, and 3% reporting physical violence. Approximately 75% reported that violent events were initiated by patients, while 45.6% reported that the events were initiated by patients’ companions. Healthcare workers’ reactions included reporting events to their supervisors or the police, but 46.7% said they did nothing; the most common reason was perceived inefficacy. Finally, only 36.4% of all participants were aware of a violence reporting system. CONCLUSION: This study showed that healthcare workers were commonly exposed to different forms of violence, but often either did not react to it or did not report it. Further, there was relatively little awareness of how to manage and report workplace violence, thus indicating the need for healthcare workers to receive relevant education and training. A national program should also be established to track and prevent workplace violence. Dove 2020-09-22 /pmc/articles/PMC7519877/ /pubmed/33061534 http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S267446 Text en © 2020 Alsmael et al. http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ This work is published and licensed by Dove Medical Press Limited. The full terms of this license are available at https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php and incorporate the Creative Commons Attribution – Non Commercial (unported, v3.0) License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/). By accessing the work you hereby accept the Terms. Non-commercial uses of the work are permitted without any further permission from Dove Medical Press Limited, provided the work is properly attributed. For permission for commercial use of this work, please see paragraphs 4.2 and 5 of our Terms (https://www.dovepress.com/terms.php).
spellingShingle Original Research
Alsmael, Mustafa M
Gorab, Ali H
AlQahtani, Areej M
Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title_full Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title_fullStr Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title_full_unstemmed Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title_short Violence Against Healthcare Workers at Primary Care Centers in Dammam and Al Khobar, Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia, 2019
title_sort violence against healthcare workers at primary care centers in dammam and al khobar, eastern province, saudi arabia, 2019
topic Original Research
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7519877/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33061534
http://dx.doi.org/10.2147/IJGM.S267446
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