Workplace Violence among Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Health Emergency: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Workplace violence among healthcare providers (HCPs) is a tangible barrier to patient care. The purpose of this study was to gain insight into physicians' and nurses' perceptions of workplace violence and their perceptions of communication skills during the COVID-19 health emergency. We also sought to assess and compare the association between types of workplace violence, communication skills, and several sociodemographic factors of physicians and nurses including gender, marital status, site of work, age, and educational level during this era. (2) Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of a selected hospital in Jordan using the Arabic version of the workplace violence and communication skills scales for September to November 2020. We included a total of 102 physicians and 190 nurses via a self-reported questionnaire. (3) Results: During the COVID-19 health emergency, physicians (48%) experienced workplace violence more than nurses (31.6%). More than two-thirds of the participants did not formally report any type of violence. Multinomial logistic regression analysis showed that marital status, gender, age, site of work, educational levels, and communication skills were associated with different types of violence among the two samples. (4) Conclusions: A high prevalence of workplace violence is noted among HCPs in Jordan compared with before the pandemic, which highlights the importance of promoting public awareness during crises.

Keywords: COVID-19; communication skills; nurses; physicians; workplace violence.