Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Jul-Sep;66(3):149-154.
doi: 10.4103/jpgm.JPGM_96_20.

Workplace violence against doctors: Characteristics, risk factors, and mitigation strategies

Affiliations
Review

Workplace violence against doctors: Characteristics, risk factors, and mitigation strategies

A Kumari et al. J Postgrad Med. 2020 Jul-Sep.

Abstract

Workplace violence is a major occupational issue concerning doctors that has a significant impact on their physical and psychological well-being. This ultimately affects the health care services of the country. Patient-led episodes of verbal violence are more prevalent in Asian countries, especially in the emergency department, psychiatric wards, and intensive care units, mostly faced by junior doctors and residents. Some common precursors of violence against doctors are patients and their attendants' dissatisfaction and low impulse control, poor administration, miscommunication, infrastructural issues especially differences in services between private and public hospitals, and negative media portrayal of doctors. The assessment of risk factors, development and implementation of workplace violence programs, and addressing underreporting of violent episodes have been suggested as some successful organizational mitigation strategies. Recommendations on the management of workplace violence include the development of participative, gender-based, culture-based, nondiscriminatory, and systematic strategies to deal with issues related to violence. This article aims to present a comprehensive review of workplace violence against doctors, discussing the prevalence, degree of violence, predictors, impact on physical and psychological health and intervention strategies to devise practical actions against workplace violence.

Keywords: Aggression; hospitals; physical abuse; physicians; trauma; workplace violence.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

None

References

    1. WHO | Background [Internet] [Last cited on 2019 Dec 01]. Available from: https://wwwwhoint/violence_injury_prevention/violence/activities/workpla...
    1. Wang N, Wu D, Sun C, Li L, Zhou X. Workplace violence in county hospitals in eastern China: Risk factors and hospital attitudes. J Interpers Violence [Internet] 2018. 088626051879224. Available from: http://journalssagepubcom/doi/101177/0886260518792242 . Last cited on 2019 Dec 01. - PubMed
    1. Chatziioannidis I, Bascialla FG, Chatzivalsama P, Vouzas F, Mitsiakos G. Prevalence, causes and mental health impact of workplace bullying in the neonatal intensive care unit environment. BMJ Open. 2018;8:e018766. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Ullah R, Siddiqui F, Zafar MS, Iqbal K. Bullying experiences of dental interns working at four dental institutions of a developing country: A cross-sectional study. Work. 2018;61:91–100. - PubMed
    1. Chowdhury ML, Husainat MM, Suson KD. Workplace bullying of urology residents: Implications for the patient and provider. Urology. 2019;127:30–5. - PubMed