Workplace violence against emergency department nurses in Oman: a cross-sectional multi-institutional study

To examine the prevalence, characteristics and factors associated with workplace violence against emergency department nurses in Oman.

Violence against healthcare professionals, including nurses, is a global public health problem. Understanding the epidemiology of violence is crucial for the implementation of appropriate preventative and management policies.

We conducted a multi-centre cross-sectional study in February 2019 utilizing a widely employed self-report questionnaire developed by the World Health Organization. We invited all emergency department nurses working in four governmental hospitals in Al-Sharqiyah and Al-Dakhiliyah Governorates of Oman to participate in the study.

Of the 103 respondents, most were Omani (57.3%), female (73.8%), and 30 years or older (65%). The majority (87.4%) were exposed to violence in the past 12 months, and non-physical violence (84.5%) was over fourfold greater than physical violence (18.4%). Most physical and non-physical incidents took place during weekends (68.4% and 82.8%, respectively) and in the afternoon or night shifts (78.9‬% and 93.1%, respectively), and family members and visitors were the most common perpetrators of violence (62.6% physical and 66.7% non-physical). Non-Omani nurses (P = 0.03) and those with education less than a bachelor's degree (P = 0.007) were less likely to experience physical violence.

Workplace violence is highly prevalent among emergency department nurses in Oman. Future studies should investigate violent incident reporting, and the causes and consequences of workplace violence on nurses' psychological and physical well-being, work functioning and the quality of care provided to patients.

The high prevalence of workplace violence is alarming and demonstrates the need for additional interventions to reduce violence and limit its consequences on healthcare professionals and patients' quality of care. Findings from this study can be used to implement changes in existing anti-violence policies.