About half of doctors in China have experienced workplace violence

Workplace violence has attracted increasing public attention over the past few decades in China. This study was conducted to evaluate the frequency of workplace violence in healthcare settings by various job titles and hospital departments, and to explore the related risk factors among Chinese medical professionals.

Methods: A total of 2,464 medical professionals in 12 hospitals of two provinces were surveyed.

About 50% of study subjects reported at least one type of workplace violence. The rates of experiencing two episodes or more of physical assault, emotional abuse, threat of assault, verbal sexual harassment, and sexual assault were 11%, 26%, 12%, 3%, and 1%, respectively. Identified risk factors for workplace violence included working in the departments of psychiatry, emergency, pediatrics and surgery, male gender, divorce/widowed status, long working hours (≥10 hr/day), and night shift.
Conclusions:The study suggested that workplace violence occurs commonly in Chinese healthcare settings. Effective intervention strategies targeting workplace violence should be formulated in terms of major risk factors.  
Read more: Am. J. Ind. Med. 55:1000–1008, 2012