A Survey of Violence against Patients and Staff Working in the Emergency Department in Ahvaz, Iran

Workplace violence means incidents or circumstances under which people are threatened verbally or physically due to the conditions relating their jobs. The aim of this study was to investigate the reasons and consequences of acts of violence by physicians on patients and medical staff in the emergency department. This cross-sectional (descriptive-analytical) study collected information of all violent incidents involving the emergency room physicians in Imam Khomeini Hospital, Ahvaz, Iran over a period of 6 months using a questionnaire and face to face interview. The physicians engaged in the act of violence were aged between 24 and 46 years old with mean age of 33.4±0.55 years old. Physicians younger than 30 years old performed significantly more violent acts (p = 0.012). The most common reason and result of the acts of violence were inappropriate behavior by the patient and their companions (50.6%) and improved behavior by the patients and their companions (21.2%), respectively. There was no meaningful relationship between gender and the reason behind the violence (p = 0.725). Nor was there a meaningful relationship between the rank of the doctor and the reason of the violence (p = 0.096) as well as between the shift on which it happened (p = 0.425). Recognizing and eliminating the violence triggers plus training physicians and medical staff to practice anger management could reduce occupational tensions and improve the performance of physicians.