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Category: Volume 10 Issue 02 February 2022
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Title: Nurses Exposure to Work-Place Violence in a Large Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Cross Sectional Study, 2019-2020

Authors: Roba Ibrahim Aboabat, Arwa Sulaiman Alkabas, Saeed Mohammed Al-Qahtani

 DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.18535/jmscr/v10i2.20

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence is a significant issue worldwide. Among health care workers, nurses are considered as high-risk group.

Objective: Our aim is to assess and investigate the rate, types, consequence and work-related characteristics associated with violence toward nurses within multicenter hospital in Riyadh region of Saudi Arabia.
Methods: A cross sectional study was conducted from 2019-2020 at all hospitals, primary care centers of Large medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. A total of 371 nurses had been voluntarily recruited in this study. We used Modified WHO questionnaires regarding working place violence that was distributed via email to all the nurses working in the hospitals.

Results: 371 nurses with a mean age of 36 years (SD 8.401) with a majority of females 86% responded to the questionnaire, 44.4% of the participants were exposed to either type of violence, psychological and or physical. 42% of the sample were exposed to psychological abuse, more than 70% were abused verbally, around 50% were bullied, about 30% of the nurses were sexually harassed, and 47.9% were exposed to racial abuse. 7.3% of the sample have been attacked physically. 50% of the nurses who got physically attacked reported that the attacker was the patient, 42% was the sitter of the patient and only 7.7% the source was a staff member. On the other hand, 38% of the nurses who were psychologically attacked the source was the sitter, 27.7% were abused by the patient and the rest were abused by a staff member. Among the nurses who witnessed WPV 46.8% of them reported the incident.

Conclusion: This study conclude that high percentage of nurses were exposed to either type of violence. An effective interventions should be implemented to reduce the prevalence of WPV among nurses, and the negative consequences on the nurses psychological well-being. Health care Institutes should implement WPV reporting programs, to encourage nurses to report, and to support the victims of WPV.

Keywords: Work-Place Violence, Nurses , Saudi Arabia.

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Corresponding Author

Roba Ibrahim Aboabat

King Abdulaziz Medical City, NATIONAL GUARD, Riyadh –KSA