EXPERIENCE OF INTERPERSONAL VIOLENCE AND SUBJECTIVE LEVELS OFAGGRESSION AMONG HEALTHCARE STAFF IN A NIGERIAN HOSPITAL

Background Workplace violence in health sector is an issue of major public health. Little is of Assessment of aggression among victims of violence is quite relevant. Objectives Study is a descriptive analysis of the burden of violence experienced by health care staff of a tertiary health care facility. Methods A descriptive cross-sectional of 127 healthcare workers. The instrument comprised of an explorative questionnaire and an extract of the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire. Results Eighty-five (66.9%) of 127 respondents had experienced work related violence. Verbal attack was most frequently reported (83.5%). Patients and relatives were most cited perpetrators of violenc. Nurses and doctors constituted 75% of health workers exposed to violence. Sociodemographic characteristics such as age group, sex, experience at work were significant risks for violence. Study revealed majority of respondents who experienced violence had elevated scores on subjective aggression scale. Conclusions Seventy per cent of respondents experienced work related violence; 62.4% of the perpetrators were patients and relatives. Rasons for violence included health workers long waiting time and health workers’ elevated scores on subjective aggression scale. Training and educating health workers on identifying early signs of aggression and also anger management would help in reducing violence at the work place.