Tracking Workplace Violence over 20 Years

Nicola Magnavita (), Igor Meraglia, Giacomo Viti and Martina Gasbarri
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Nicola Magnavita: Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
Igor Meraglia: Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
Giacomo Viti: Department of Life Sciences and Public Health, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, 00168 Roma, Italy
Martina Gasbarri: Local Sanitary Unit Roma4, 00053 Civitavecchia, Italy

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 11, 1-21

Abstract: Introduction. Violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) is a widespread, underreported, and inadequately prevented problem. Only a few companies have efficient systems for assessing the extent of the phenomenon. Methods . In 2005, the health surveillance service of a public health company introduced a system that monitored violence experienced by HCWs by means of three items from the Violent Incident Form (VIF) integrated with departmental in-depth analyses using the participatory ergonomics group technique. Results . In 2005, the annual rate of physical assaults was 8.2%, that of threats was 12.0%, and the harassment rate was 19.6%. Over the past twenty years of observation (2005–2024), the percentage of workers who reported experiencing a physical attack in the previous year at their periodic medical examination has fluctuated between 5.8% and 11.1%, except for the years 2020 and 2021 when, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the rate was 3.9% and 3.2%, respectively. During the same pandemic period, the annual threat rate, which ranged from 9.4% to 20.1%, dropped to 7.7%, while the prevalence of harassment, which was between 13.5 and 19.6, fell to 7.2%. HCWs believe that (i) limiting visitor access, (ii) a better balance of the demand for services, and (iii) a better attitude towards HCWs were the causes of the reduced rate of violence during the pandemic. Conclusions. Recording the violence experienced during health surveillance is an economical, reliable, and sustainable risk assessment method.

Keywords: health surveillance; aggression; threat; harassment; risk assessment; participatory methods; COVID-19; prevention; longitudinal study; occupational epidemiology; methodology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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