CPTED and Workplace Violence in Jordanian Public Hospitals

Abstract

In recent years, workplace violence (WPV) has become a serious problem in public hospitals in Jordan. This study focuses on whether and how the use of architectural and management solutions that rely mainly on the Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) approach (including natural surveillance, natural access control, territorial concern, and management & maintenance) has worked for two Jordanian public hospitals in controlling WPV. This study employed a descriptive research design, and data were collected using quantitative and qualitative methods. The sample population included all the workers at two major referral public hospitals in Jordan. This study found that the hospitals attempted to make significant use of CPTED but that CPTED usage was at least partially ineffective because of poor implementation of its principles and because employees were not sufficiently educated in CPTED to exploit the CPTED engineering and design features. Thus, certain factors that might induce violence were not effectively addressed at both of the hospitals studied. This study thus provides a clear picture of a number of issues contributing to WPV in Jordanian public hospitals that must be addressed by those in charge.