Violence against health professionals and facilities in China: Evidence from criminal litigation records

This study aims to extend the current understanding of violence against health professionals and facilities in China, with data from an authoritative, national-representative, but under-researched data source - litigation records, and discuss implications for developing violence prevention strategies.

We collected all legal cases relevant to violence against health professionals and facilities from criminal ligation records released by the Supreme Court of China from 2010 to 2016.

(i) Characteristics of perpetrators: gender, age, education, occupation, history of mental illness and alcohol; (ii) characteristics of victims: medical specialization, location, type of violence; (iii) outcome of treatment.

140 cases were collected for analysis. Beating, pushing, verbal abuse, threatening, burning mock paper money, placing a corpse in the hospital, hanging banners, blocking hospital gates and doors, and smashing hospital property were the most frequently reported types of violence. Specifically following patient deaths, the interval between a patient's death and violence by the patient's families and friends was short, with 51% happening on the same day.

Our study provides a comprehensive overview of violence against health professionals and facilities in China, which can be used to inform the development of prevention strategies.