Another quick summary from Wu et al. (2015) on the determinants of workplace violence against clinical physicians in (Taiwanese) hospitals.

This paper adds further weight to the business case for an improved safety climate in workplaces, in this case; hospitals, as a protective factor against workplace violence.

Abstract

Objectives: Workplace violence in the health sector is a worldwide concern. Physicians play an essential role in healthcare teamwork; thus, understanding how organizational factors influence workplace violence against physicians is
critical. Methods: A total of 189 physicians from three public hospitals and one private hospital in Northern Taiwan completed a survey, and the response rate was 47.1%. This study was approved by the institutional review board of each participating hospital. The 189 physicians were selected from the Taipei area, Taiwan.

Results: The results showed that 41.5% of the respondents had received at least one workplace-related physical or verbal violent threat and that 9.8% of the respondents had experienced at least one episode of sexual harassment in the 3 months before the survey. Logistic regression analysis revealed that physicians in psychiatry or emergency medicine departments received more violent threats and sexual harassment than physicians in other departments. Furthermore, physicians with a lower workplace safety climate (OR=0.89; 95% CI=0.81−0.98) and more job demands (OR=1.15; 95% CI=1.02−1.30) were more likely to receive violent threats.

Conclusions: This study found that workplace violence was associated with job demands and the workplace safety climate. Therefore, determining how to develop a workplace safety climate and ensure a safe job environment for physicians is a crucial management policy issue for healthcare systems.

Method

Survey of 189 physicians in Taiwan hospitals

Discussion

• 41.5% of responding physicians experienced WV in the past 3 months
• 9.8% of responding physicians experienced sexual harassment in the past 3 months
• Safety climate was the most significant predictor of workplace violence
• Job demands were also a significant predictor of workplace violence
  • Excessive workloads and high-stress situations could result in lower-quality care which increases the number of dissatisfied patients – ‘dissatisfied patients’ is the leading cause of WV against physicians
• Perceived safety climate was seen by respondents as being a protective factor for WV that mediates the relationship between work engagement, job satisfaction, workplace violence and negative consequences

What does it mean on the ground?

• Could increase staffing numbers, provide administrative support to free physicians up to do more meaningful work, and review job design
• While there was high participation in safety and WV training, 87% of it was through lectures.  Could review how training is delivered to make it more interactive and dynamic, and use small group learning.
• While this paper relates to physicians in Taiwanese hospitals, these findings and recommendations are consistent with other professions in other industries and countries.  This means that the recommendations here are universal.

Reference

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1539/joh.15-0111-OA