An exploratory study on the prevalence of workplace violence: the case of Algerian hospitals
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/ER-09-2021-0409 |
| Published date | 25 February 2022 |
| Date | 25 February 2022 |
| Pages | 1127-1141 |
| Subject Matter | HR & organizational behaviour,Industrial/labour relations,Employment law |
| Author | Yamina Heddar,Mébarek Djebabra,Saadia Saadi |
An exploratory study on the
prevalence of workplace violence:
the case of Algerian hospitals
Yamina Heddar, M
ebarek Djebabra and Saadia Saadi
LRPI Laboratory, Institute of Health and Safety, University of Batna 2,
Batna, Algeria
Abstract
Purpose –Workplace violence is a universal phenomenon that is constantly increasing. In this regard, this
study aims to investigate the prevalence of violence committed against Algerian health professionals.
Design/methodology/approach –A cross-sectional survey, based on an anonymous, self-administered
questionnaire, was conducted in healthcare settings of eastern Algeria (where 144 respondents participated in
this study). Besides, socio-demographic characteristics and data related to violence, including its prevalence,
different forms, perpetrators, reporting and the way it is handled, were analyzed using descriptive and
inferential statistics.
Findings –Half of the respondents were victims of violence. More specifically, 90.1% of them were verbally
abused. Compared to physical violence, verbal violence was significantly perpetrated against women and
young health professionals (p< 0.05). However, nurses and those with less than or equal to five years of work
experience were the most vulnerable to both types of violence (p< 0.05). Moreover, the main perpetrators were
the patients’relatives(70%) followed by the patients themselves (51.4%). In terms of risk treatment, aggressors
were verbally warned (60%). For violence reporting, 31% of the respondents observe such a fact as not being
important. Finally, 65.7% of the participants reported that their employers had provided them with security
measures (guards).
Originality/value –This is the first study conducted in Algeriathat examines the prevalence of violence and
its relationship with socio-demographic characteristics. Authorities must react effectively to solve this problem
by implementing preventive and anticipatory strategies.
Keywords Healthcare professionals, Prevalence, Workplace violence, Algeria
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Workplace violence (WPV) is a universal problem that threatens the health and safety of
workers (Ramacciati and Giusti, 2020). Indeed, Lanct^
ot and Guay (2014) revealed the different
sectors affected by this pandemic, such as those of healthcare settings, transport, education
and commerce. However, they underline that healthcare is the most affected workplace. This
finding was confirmed by Sun et al. (2017),Mento et al. (2020), which considers that healthcare
professionals are the most vulnerable workers to be victims of violence. Similarly, the studies
by Al-Shiyab and Ababneh (2018),Hassankhani et al. (2018) and Al-Qadi (2020) highlighted
that the occurrence of violence is more frequent in the health field compared to other
professions. In this regard, Njaka et al. (2020) estimated that more than one-third (1/3) of
violence cases occurred in healthcare settings.
Recently, this occupational risk has significantly increased in terms of frequency and
severity (Singh, 2017;Alsharari et al., 2021;Brunero et al., 2021;Somani et al., 2021) and has
been exacerbated by the health crisis caused by the Corona Virus pandemic, in which
healthcare workers are confronted with a large number of patients (Ramacciati and Giusti,
2020;Bhattacharjee, 2021).
Faced with this problem, international organizations have agreed on the scope of this
scourge by agreeing on its definition. Indeed, the International Labour Organization (ILO), the
World Health Organization (WHO), the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and the Public
Services International (PSI) define violence in healthcare as, “any incident in which staff are
Prevalence of
workplace
violence
1127
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Received 20 September 2021
Revised 30 December 2021
7 February 2022
Accepted 9 February 2022
Employee Relations: The
International Journal
Vol. 44 No. 5, 2022
pp. 1127-1141
© Emerald Publishing Limited
0142-5455
DOI 10.1108/ER-09-2021-0409
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