Workplace Violence toward Physicians and Nurses: Prevalence and Correlates in Macau
1
School of Nursing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
2
Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14(8), 879; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080879
Received: 6 June 2017
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Revised: 31 July 2017
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Accepted: 31 July 2017
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Published: 4 August 2017
(This article belongs to the Section Occupational Safety and Health)
This paper sets out to estimate the prevalence of workplace violence in relation to socio-demographic characteristics of physicians and nurses working in healthcare settings in Macau. Background: Concerted efforts worldwide to reduce workplace violence (WPV) have not yet removed medical-related professionals from the threat of patients’, family members’, and colleagues’ physical and other assaults in Southeast Asia. Methods: The study employs a cross-sectional design to estimate the prevalence and examines the socio-economic and psychological correlates of WPV among medical doctors and nurses in Macau. The data collection period spanned from August to December 2014. Multiple logistic regression examines the prevalence rates of WPV and its associated factors in doctors and nurses. Results: A total of 107 doctors (14.9%) and 613 nurses (85.1%) participated in the study; 57.2% had suffered WPV in the preceding year. The most common forms of workplace violence were verbal abuse (53.4%), physical assault (16.1%), bullying/harassment (14.2%), sexual harassment (4.6%), and racial harassment (2.6%). Most violence was perpetrated by patients and their relatives, colleagues, and supervisors. Conclusions: WPV remains a significant concern in healthcare settings in Macau. Macau’s local health authority should consider putting in place a raft of zero-tolerance policies designed to prevent it.
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Keywords:
doctors; nurses; workplace violence; occupational stress; mental health; Macau
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited
MDPI and ACS Style
Cheung, T.; Lee, P.H.; Yip, P.S.F. Workplace Violence toward Physicians and Nurses: Prevalence and Correlates in Macau. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017, 14, 879. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080879
AMA Style
Cheung T, Lee PH, Yip PSF. Workplace Violence toward Physicians and Nurses: Prevalence and Correlates in Macau. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2017; 14(8):879. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080879
Chicago/Turabian StyleCheung, Teris, Paul H. Lee, and Paul S.F. Yip. 2017. "Workplace Violence toward Physicians and Nurses: Prevalence and Correlates in Macau" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 14, no. 8: 879. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph14080879
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