Violence in the Health Sector and Its Properties: A Questionnaire toward Physician Working in the Emergency Departments

Abstract

Objective: In our country, violence has been spreading to every part of society, especially in the health sector in recent years. In this study, we aimed to determine the properties of violence that physicians working in the emergency departments are exposed to and witness and also to present the process after the violence. Material and Methods: This study was held with participants of the 4th Emergency Medicine School Meeting organized by the Emergency Medicine Physicians Association of Turkey on January 11-12, 2013 in Istanbul. Answers given to the questionnaire titled “Violence in the health sector and its properties” by volunteer participants were evaluated with a statistical program. Results: Of the 73 physicians, 60.3% was male and 39.7% was female. The mean age was 31.9±5.8 years; 91.8% stated that they were exposed to violence at least once in their professional lives. The most common type of violence exposed and witnessed was verbal violence. Conclusion: Emergency departments are places where violence is experienced extremely often. Doing legal arrangements, taking security precautions, and solving patient-healthcare communication problems are important steps for preventing violence. But, it is thought that the main step is to provide social synergy in the perception of violence. (JAEM 2014; 13: 124-30)