[Aggressions toward health care workers (HCW) are a rather common event]

The aim of the study is to explore the nature and causes of aggressions and to identify possible solutions to support HCWs.

An open and closed questions questionnaire was distributed to the 5337 HCWs (nurses, doctors, nurses aids, technicians) of a large Italian hospital.

Only 467 useful questionnaires were returned (8.6%); 37.2% of respondents experienced one or more aggressions, mostly verbal (59.2%) and physical and verbal (16.7%). Nurses and doctors were more exposed to aggressions and the main aggressors were patients and their relatives. Younger people are at higher risk. Half of the victims report consequences on private and working life.

As recommended by the Health Ministry, preventive measures should be adopted and the HCWs' ability to deal with conflicts should be reinforced.