Physician exposure to violence: a study performed in Turkey

BAYKAN Z., ÖKTEM I. S., ÇETİNKAYA F., NAÇAR M.

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS, cilt.21, sa.3, ss.291-297, 2015 (SSCI) identifier identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 21 Sayı: 3
  • Basım Tarihi: 2015
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1080/10803548.2015.1073008
  • Dergi Adı: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND ERGONOMICS
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.291-297
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: workplace violence, healthcare workers, physician, HEALTH-CARE WORKERS, HOSPITALS
  • Erciyes Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

Recently, in Turkey, there has been an increase in the number of violent acts against healthcare workers, towards doctors in particular. This study aimed to investigate the extent of violence, the causes of violence and to evaluate proposed solutions to violence. Out of 597 physicians, 86.4% indicated that they were exposed to at least one type of violence (physical, verbal, sexual) throughout their careers. Among the physicians participating in the study, 27.5% suffered physical threats and 68.6% suffered verbal violence in the past year. Only 40.4% reported the physical violence to their institution. Physicians indicated that the top three causes of violent behavior were excessive demands of patients, the expectation that the issue will be solved immediately and blaming physicians for their problems. To stop violence against themselves, physicians need to raise their voices, along with those of their personal or professional organizations, and should report and follow up incidents.