Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine

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Original Article
SJEMed. 2020; 1(1): 5-14

Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia

Authors: Faisal Alhusain, Maryam Aloqalaa, Danah Alrusayyis, Khalid Alshehri, Sadaqah Wazzan, Nouf Alwelyee, Aljerian Nawfal.

View PDF HTML Fulltext DOI: 10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869

Abstract

Introduction: Emergency departments (EDs) have been identified as the highest risk area within a hospital to be exposed to workplace violence (WPV). This study aimed to estimate the prevalence of WPV against healthcare providers in EDs in Saudi Arabia, to explore the experiences and attitudes of ED staff toward WPV, and to identify the possible risk factors for WPV. Methods: A cross-sectional survey study was conducted with physicians and nurses working in 37 EDs in three provinces in Saudi Arabia, using a convenient sampling method. Over a 1-year period, 787 ED staff members were contacted and a 60% response rate was achieved. Results: The 1-year prevalence of at least one violent act against ED staff was 45%. Verbal threats were the most common type of WPV (42%). The study found that the prevalence of WPV against physicians (47%) was higher than against nurses (41%). However, when comparing the physician and nurse groups, none of the types of WPV was statistically significant. More female participants were exposed to stalking compared to male participants (OR 0.38; 95% CI 0.15–0.92). Non Arabic speakers experienced more WPV in the form of verbal threats and physical assault than the Arabic speaking group (OR 0.14; 95% CI 0.03–0.75). Participants working at the Ministry of Health hospitals were more likely to be exposed to a confrontation when off-duty and to stalking. Conclusion: Almost half of the ED physicians and nurses experienced one or more WPV incident during a 12-month period.

Keywords:   Violence, Emergency department, Saudi Arabia


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Open access Creative Commons License
Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia


Authors
Faisal Alhusain
Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Maryam Aloqalaa
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Danah Alrusayyis
Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Khalid Alshehri
King Abdullah International Medical Research Center, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Sadaqah Wazzan
College of Medicine, Imam Abdulrahman bin Faisal University, Dammam, Saudi Arabia
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Nouf Alwelyee
Department of Neurology, King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Aljerian Nawfal
Department of Emergency Medicine, Alnoor Specialist Hospital, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
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Correspondence to:
. Faisal Ahmed Alhusain, Department of Emergency Medicine, King Abdulaziz Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Faisalalhusain@gmail.com

Publication history
Received 18 Oct 2019
Revised 16 Dec 2019
Accepted 14 Jan 2020
Published in print 08 Feb 2020

How to cite this article

Pubmed Style

Alhusain F, Aloqalaa M, Alrusayyis D, Alshehri K, Wazzan S, Alwelyee N, Nawfal A. Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. 2020; 1(1): 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


Web Style

Alhusain F, Aloqalaa M, Alrusayyis D, Alshehri K, Wazzan S, Alwelyee N, Nawfal A. Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. https://www.sjemed.com/?mno=70172 [Access: February 08, 2023]. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


AMA (American Medical Association) Style

Alhusain F, Aloqalaa M, Alrusayyis D, Alshehri K, Wazzan S, Alwelyee N, Nawfal A. Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. 2020; 1(1): 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


Vancouver/ICMJE Style

Alhusain F, Aloqalaa M, Alrusayyis D, Alshehri K, Wazzan S, Alwelyee N, Nawfal A. Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed. (2020), [cited February 08, 2023]; 1(1): 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


Harvard Style

Alhusain, F., Aloqalaa, . M., Alrusayyis, . D., Alshehri, . K., Wazzan, . S., Alwelyee, . N. & Nawfal, . A. (2020) Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. SJEMed, 1 (1), 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


Turabian Style

Alhusain, Faisal, Maryam Aloqalaa, Danah Alrusayyis, Khalid Alshehri, Sadaqah Wazzan, Nouf Alwelyee, and Aljerian Nawfal. 2020. Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 1 (1), 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


Chicago Style

Alhusain, Faisal, Maryam Aloqalaa, Danah Alrusayyis, Khalid Alshehri, Sadaqah Wazzan, Nouf Alwelyee, and Aljerian Nawfal. "Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 1 (2020), 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


MLA (The Modern Language Association) Style

Alhusain, Faisal, Maryam Aloqalaa, Danah Alrusayyis, Khalid Alshehri, Sadaqah Wazzan, Nouf Alwelyee, and Aljerian Nawfal. "Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia." Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine 1.1 (2020), 5-14. Print. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


APA (American Psychological Association) Style

Alhusain, F., Aloqalaa, . M., Alrusayyis, . D., Alshehri, . K., Wazzan, . S., Alwelyee, . N. & Nawfal, . A. (2020) Workplace violence against healthcare providers in emergency departments in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Journal of Emergency Medicine, 1 (1), 5-14. doi:10.24911/SJEMed/72-1571404869


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