Abstract :
Background: Workplace violence is a universal problem across all hospitals. Very few studies have reported violence incidents faced by residents during their residency. This study aimed to quantity family medicine resident’s exposure of workplace violence and its consequences.
Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among family medicine residents of joint program of Family medicine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in 2020. A structured questionnaire consists of demographic data, occupational history and reporting of violence was used to collect data. Out of total 180 family medicine residents were, 155 had participated in study. Data were analyzed using SPSS 26.0 version statistical software.
Results: Out of 155 residents, there were 57(36.8%) were male subjects. The mean (SD) age of residents was 28.3(2.5) years. Self-reported prevalence of workplace violence during their residency training period was 46.5%. And there is no significant association between exposure to workplace violence and resident’s gender (p=0.873), marital status (p=0.595) and level of residency (p=0.268). Verbal abuse was faced by 69(82.1%) residents. Overcrowding, long waiting time, reaction to injury and misunderstanding were causes of violence. Only 23(31.9%) of residents had reported violent incidents to their supervisors.
Conclusions: Workplace violence has become a routine and significant problem in all hospitals where physicians, residents, interns and nurses are victims. A high prevalence of violence together with underreporting indicates inadequate role of administrative machinery to provide measures for the safety of health care workers. Providing training for residents in best working practices and proper methods of resolving conflicts could reduce the incidents of workplace violence.
Keyword :
Residents, Family medicine, Workplace violence, Saudi Arabia.