Abstract

Background: Workplace violence against healthcare workers in emergencies, operation theatres, outpatient departments and indoors is of significant occupational concern that usually involves doctors, paramedics, patients and relatives; consequently it increases costs of services and results low standards of care. The comprehensions need detailed exploration for developing and flourishing new SOPs and amendments to stop violence in hospital Aim: To understand the demographic facts and professional aspects linked with workplace violence and to estimate the prevalence in DHQ Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan. Study design: Descriptive care series Place and Duration of Study: DHQ Teaching Hospital, Dera Ghazi Khan from 1st April 2019 to 30th June 2019. Methodology: Eighty three healthcare workers were enrolled. Healthcare workers including resident doctors, medical officers, nurses and house officers were eligible to participate in cross-sectional study. A structured questionnaire comprising questions regarding the frequency, causes, reactions, timing and results of workplace violence with participants occupational and demographic information. Results: The mean age was 33±7 years (range 25–40) and both males and females participated in this study. More than 95% had experienced some workplace violence at least once (P≤0.005). Conclusions: The development of social support, effective safety trainings and workshops like activities for health care workers. Prompt reporting and policies like zero tolerance need to be strictly implemented to reduce workplace violence against health care providers.

Keywords: Healthcare workers, Healthcare relationships, Aggression