Violence against healthcare workers in a university hospital of central italy: how risk management interventions can help change a trend

Abstract

Background/Objectives: Violence against workers (physical, verbal, or psychological abuse), even if it affects all professional categories, is up to ten times higher in healthcare workers. A University Hospital of Central Italy has gradually implemented a series of preventive measures, which might have impacted the trend of the phenomenon. Methods: In order to monitor the episodes, an aggressive event reporting form was adopted throughout the hospital. Data extracted both from this form and the root cause analysis documentation regarding the period January 2019–December 2023 were used. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed using the Chi-squares test, while the join point regression program was used to analyze the trends. Results: The average age of the sample is 43.5 years, with twice as many female workers as male workers. Nurses are more frequently involved (76.6%), and 58% of the events involved 2 to 4 HWs. Verbal violence was reported by 51.2% of HWs, and over 35% of them did not suffer any damage, while 25% suffered mild to moderate damage (illness, injury, or material harm, whether physical or psychological). The hospital divisions which are primarily concerned are the Psychiatry department (36.2%) and the Emergency Room (33.4%). There is no difference in hospital management of aggressive events between males and females. Join point regression analyses showed that there was a significant increase in the reporting of episodes of aggression. Conclusions: The presence of a strong culture of reporting among HWs guarantees a seemingly constant increase in the reporting of nonphysical forms of violence. The statistically significant differences found will allow hospital management to categorize the risk levels and act accordingly