Prevalence of Workplace Violence against Female Nurses at Tertiary Care Hospital Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

The appearance of workplace violence against nurses is on the rise everywhere in the world. Workplace violence (WPV) against female nurses has increased in a worrying way. Objective: To determine the Prevalence of work place violence among female nurses. Methods: This was the cross-sectional study conducted at tertiary care hospital of Karachi. Study was completed within four months from July, 2021 till October, 2021. Convenience sampling technique was used to collect data. To assess the prevalence of workplace violence a valid and modified questionnaire was used to collect data from participants after taking their consent. Sample size was calculated by using software Open Epi version 3.0 with 95% confidence level and 5% of margin of error. Results: Majority of the nurses 27.8% had less than one year of experience, 25.6% had 1-5 year of experience, 17.8% had 6-10 years’ experience, 24.4% had 11-15 years of experience, and 4.4% nurses had 16-20 years of experience in the field of nursing. 88.8% have experienced some form of violence (verbal, physical) at workplace in past 12 months. Majority of the perpetrators 33.7% were staff members, similarly, 33.7% attackers towards nurses were patients. Conclusions: Workplace violence is a very vast, sensitive, and significant issue among nurses which is badly ignored. Nurses have the right to work in a secure environment that is free of physical, verbal, and sexual abuse. The need of avoiding and inhibiting workplace violence must be emphasized.