Workplace violence against emergency department workers in University Malaya Medical Center

Healthcare workers are at higher risk to the exposure of workplace violence by sixteen times compared to any other professional. Emergency Department (ED) are at a greater risk of such events. The objectives of this study were to describe the frequency, the contributing factors and the reporting of workplace violence against ED workers in University Malaya Medical Center (UMMC), as well as to identify if there is any significant difference in frequency of violence, the feeling of safety and the level of confidence when dealing with workplace violence, based on demographic and occupational characteristics. A cross-sectional study design was conducted from November to December 2018 using quota sampling technique. The questionnaire was adapted from Alshehri (2016) and Kowalenko et al., (2013). Descriptive statistics, Independent t-test, and Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to analyze the data. Two hundred and twenty-six ED workers in UMMC completed the survey. The most common types of violence found to be verbal abuse (100%), followed by physical violence (53%), threats (44%) and sexual harassment (32%). Workplace violence was frequent in
the ED of UMMC with each worker experienced at least one episode of verbal abuse in the past 12 months. ‘Waiting time to receive service' and ‘failure to fulfill patients or visitors desire' were the most common contributing factors for violence in ED. Majority of the victim did not report the violent incident with ‘no benefit in writing' and ‘incident was not important' being the common reason. There was a statistically significant difference in the frequency of violence based on education and occupation. Nurses were the most exposed profession to workplace violence compared to other professions. Those with less working experience and Healthcare assistant significantly felt less safe compared to other professions in the ED. Those with more experience, being male, and working as Security guard felt more confident in managing violence at the workplace. Understanding the nature of violence in the workplace is the first step before further developing effective strategies to manage the problem. Enforcement of policies, and establishing a continuous training program could enhance workplace safety for healthcare workers.