Abstract
Emergency departments (EDs) are high-risk places for Workplace Violence (WPV). In Italy, this phenomenon is scarcely investigated. The aim of this study is to evaluate the incidence, experiencing and perception of WPV in the general ED (GED), paediatric ED (PED) and obstetric–gynaecological ED (OGED) of the teaching hospital Azienda Ospedaliera in Padua (AOP). We led a cross-sectional study among the GED, OGED and PED staffs, submitting an anonymous questionnaire, regarding personal information, verbal and physical aggression experiences, risk factors and proposals for corrective actions. Our sample consists of 73 people from GED, 45 from OGED and 53 from PED. Aggressions are common. Verbal aggressions are almost never recorded, even in the case of physical aggressions, 41% did not signal the event. Both in GED and in OGED, most of the staff (68.9% and 75.0%, respectively) underwent aggression by neither psychiatric nor substance abuser patients (PSAPs). Physical aggressions are more common in GED than in OGED and in PED; most of professionals were assaulted by PSAPs. In all EDs, verbal or physical assault has been lived through by anger, resignation or fear, rarely by indifference. Professionals think there are structural characteristics and risk factors that could be corrected. They do not know how to manage assaults and would deem it useful training meetings with experts. Our results regarding how staff perceive and experience violence in the ED concern a local situation, that nevertheless reflect current evidence about the topic of WPV which plagues EDs across the globe.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
CDC—The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Publication Number (2002–101) 2002 April Violence Occupational Hazards in Hospitals
U.S. Bureau of Labour Statistics. Revisions to the 2007 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries (CFOI) U.S. Bureau Statistics Website
Janoch JA, Smith TS. Workplace safety and health in the health care and social assistance industry. 2003–2007. U.S. Bureau Labour and Statistics Website
McPahul KM, Lippscomb JA (2004) Workplace violence in health care: recognized but non regulated. Online J Issus Nurse 9(3):7
Gerberich SG, Church TR, McGovern PM et al (2004) An epidemiological study of the magnitude and consequences of work related violence; The Minnesota Nurses’Study. Occup Environ Med 61(6):495–503
Raccomandazione n°8, novembre 2007 Ministero della Salute Dipartimento della qualità Direzione generale della programmazione sanitaria, dei livelli di assistenza e dei principi etici di sistema—ufficio III
Magnavita N, Heponiemi T, Bevilacqua L, Capri A, Roccia K, Quaranta D et al (2011) Analisi della violenza contro i lavoratori della sanità durante la sorveglianza sanitaria in periodo di 8 anni. G Ital Med Lav Erg 33(3):274–277
Ramacciati N, Ceccagnoli A (2011) Violenza e aggressioni in Pronto Soccorso: revisione della letteratura. L’Infermiere 48(5):e43–e50
Winstanley S, Whittington R (2004) Aggression towards health care staff in a UK general hospital: variation among professions and departments. J Clin Nurs 13(1):3–10
Fern T (2005) Violence in the accident and emergency department—an international perspective. Accid Emerg Nurs 13(3):180–185
Jenkins MG, Rocke LG, McNicholl BP et al (1998) Violence and verbal abuse against staff in accident and emergency departments: a survey of consultants in the UK and the Republic of Ireland. J Accid Emerg Med 15(4):262–265
Lau JBC, Magarey J, McCutcheon H (2004) Violence in the emergency department: A literature review. Aust Emerg Nurs J 7(2):27–37
Kowalenko T, Hauff SR, Morden PC, Smith B (2012) Development of a data collection instrument for violent patient encounters against healthcare workers. WJ Emerg Med 13(5):429–433
Knowles E, Mason SM, Moriarty F (2013) I’m going to learn how to run quick: exploring violence directed towards staff in the emergency department. Emerg Med J 30:926–931
Lowtian JA, Curtis AJ, Camero PA et al (2011) Systematic review of trends in emergency department attendance: an Australian perspective. Emerg Med J 28:373–377
Ferns T (2005) Violence in the accident and emergency department-an international perspective. Accid Emer Nurs 13:180–185
Winstanley S, Whittington R (2004) Aggression towards health care staff in a UK general hospital: variation among professions and departments. J Clin Nurse 13:3–10
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank Mrs Liliana Paoli for the linguistic review.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by MZ, GM and FT. The first draft the manuscript was written by MZ and FDR and all authors commented on previous version of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflict of interest
There are no potential conflicts of interest or any financial or personal relationship with other people or organizations that could inappropriately bias conduct and findings of this study.
Statements on human and animal rights
Our work does not involve any violation of human and animal rights and the health workers interviewed were obviusly willing.
Informed consent
None.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zoleo, M., Della Rocca, F., Tedeschi, F. et al. Violence against health workers: findings from three emergency departments in the teaching hospital of Padua, Italy . Intern Emerg Med 15, 1067–1074 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-020-02290-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11739-020-02290-7