Workplace violence in the health sector: An assessment of prevalence and pattern

Abstract

Abstract Background Workplace violence has gained significant attention over the last few decades. Violence against health care workers is a complex and persistent occupational hazard facing the health profession and constitutes almost a quarter of all violence at work. This study was conducted to assess the prevalence and pattern of workplace violence among Healthcare workers in Tertiary Health facilities in Benin - City, Nigeria with a view to making recommendations that will enhance the safety of the healthcare workers and improve patient care. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional study was carried out among healthcare workers in tertiary healthcare facilities in Benin City. Benin City is the capital of Edo State, Nigeria. Edo State is in the South-South geo-political zone of Nigeria and is the country's central gateway to the North, East, and West. Respondents were selected using the stratified sampling technique. Data was collected using a pre-tested structured questionnaire adapted from the International Labour Organization/World Health Organization joint programme on workplace violence in the health sector confidential survey. Data analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 22.0 software. A p-value <0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results A total of 386 healthcare workers, with a mean age (SD) of 33.9 ± 6.0 years and male: female ratio of 1:1.7 participated in the study. Physical, verbal, sexual and emotional violence were suffered by 285 (73.8%), 267 (69.2%), 133 (34.5%) and 104 (26.9%) respectively in the workplace. Overall, majority, 323 (83.7%) of respondents had experienced workplace violence. Being female, single and nursing profession were significantly associated with workplace violence (p < 0.001). Conclusions The prevalence of workplace violence was high among the studied group. Interventions focusing on the fundamental role of prevention in effectively combating violence at work is recommended. Key messages Violence against health care workers is an occupational hazard facing the health profession and constitutes almost a quarter of all violence at work. Prevalence of workplace violence was high among the studied group. The most common pattern of workplace violence was physical violence.