Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study
Objectives In this study, the frequency and consequences of aggressive assaults on employees in the German healthcare and welfare system were investigated.Design A retrospective cross-sectional study.Setting Employees in the German healthcare system and their experiences of violence and aggression w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMJ Publishing Group
2012-10-01
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| Series: | BMJ Open |
| Online Access: | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/5/e001420.full |
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| author | Claudia Peters Albert Nienhaus Anja Schablon Annett Zeh Dana Wendeler Claudia Wohlert Melanie Harling |
| author_facet | Claudia Peters Albert Nienhaus Anja Schablon Annett Zeh Dana Wendeler Claudia Wohlert Melanie Harling |
| author_sort | Claudia Peters |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objectives In this study, the frequency and consequences of aggressive assaults on employees in the German healthcare and welfare system were investigated.Design A retrospective cross-sectional study.Setting Employees in the German healthcare system and their experiences of violence and aggression were examined in this study.Participants The sample consisted of 1973 employees from 39 facilities (6 facilities for the disabled, 6 hospitals and 27 outpatient and inpatient geriatric care facilities) who have regular contact with patients or clients.Main outcome measures The frequency of physical and verbal violence towards employees and the consequences of aggressive assaults were analysed.Results 56% of respondents had experienced physical violence and 78% verbal aggression. The highest frequency of physical violence was in inpatient geriatric care (63%) (p=0.000). Younger workers run a higher risk of being affected by physical violence than older colleagues (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.4). There is also an increased risk of experiencing physical violence in inpatient geriatric care (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0). Around a third of workers feel seriously stressed by the violence experienced. The better the facility trained employees for dealing with aggressive and violent clients, the less risk employees ran of experiencing either verbal aggression (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.7) or physical violence (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9). Training by the facility has a positive effect on experienced stress (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.8).Conclusions Violence towards nursing and healthcare personnel occurs frequently. Every third respondent feels severely stressed by violence and aggression. Occupational support provisions to prevent and provide aftercare for cases of violence and aggression reduce the risk of incidents and of perceived stress. Research is needed on occupational support provisions that reduce the risk of staff experiencing verbal and physical violence and the stress that is associated with it. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c87b9bc9402b4b328d54a551c18bc9fb |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2044-6055 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-10-01 |
| publisher | BMJ Publishing Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMJ Open |
| spelling | doaj-art-c87b9bc9402b4b328d54a551c18bc9fb2025-02-02T02:55:10ZengBMJ Publishing GroupBMJ Open2044-60552012-10-012510.1136/bmjopen-2012-001420Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional studyClaudia Peters0Albert Nienhaus1Anja Schablon2Annett Zeh3Dana Wendeler4Claudia Wohlert5Melanie Harling6University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany2 Institute for Health Services Research in Dermatology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute for Statutory Accident Insurance and Prevention in the Health and Welfare Services, Hamburg, GermanyUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyUniversity Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, GermanyObjectives In this study, the frequency and consequences of aggressive assaults on employees in the German healthcare and welfare system were investigated.Design A retrospective cross-sectional study.Setting Employees in the German healthcare system and their experiences of violence and aggression were examined in this study.Participants The sample consisted of 1973 employees from 39 facilities (6 facilities for the disabled, 6 hospitals and 27 outpatient and inpatient geriatric care facilities) who have regular contact with patients or clients.Main outcome measures The frequency of physical and verbal violence towards employees and the consequences of aggressive assaults were analysed.Results 56% of respondents had experienced physical violence and 78% verbal aggression. The highest frequency of physical violence was in inpatient geriatric care (63%) (p=0.000). Younger workers run a higher risk of being affected by physical violence than older colleagues (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.3 to 2.4). There is also an increased risk of experiencing physical violence in inpatient geriatric care (OR 1.6, 95% CI 1.2 to 2.0). Around a third of workers feel seriously stressed by the violence experienced. The better the facility trained employees for dealing with aggressive and violent clients, the less risk employees ran of experiencing either verbal aggression (OR 0.5, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.7) or physical violence (OR 0.7, 95% CI 0.6 to 0.9). Training by the facility has a positive effect on experienced stress (OR 0.6, 95% CI 0.4 to 0.8).Conclusions Violence towards nursing and healthcare personnel occurs frequently. Every third respondent feels severely stressed by violence and aggression. Occupational support provisions to prevent and provide aftercare for cases of violence and aggression reduce the risk of incidents and of perceived stress. Research is needed on occupational support provisions that reduce the risk of staff experiencing verbal and physical violence and the stress that is associated with it.https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/5/e001420.full |
| spellingShingle | Claudia Peters Albert Nienhaus Anja Schablon Annett Zeh Dana Wendeler Claudia Wohlert Melanie Harling Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study BMJ Open |
| title | Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the German healthcare and welfare system: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | frequency and consequences of violence and aggression towards employees in the german healthcare and welfare system a cross sectional study |
| url | https://bmjopen.bmj.com/content/2/5/e001420.full |
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