Occurrence and correlated factors of physical and verbal violence among emergency physicians in China

Workplace violence against emergency physicians is a global concern. However, there was relatively little research on the incidence and correlated factors of workplace violence among emergency physicians in China. We aimed to investigate the occurrence and correlated factors of physical and verbal violence among emergency physicians in China.

We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study from July 2018 to August 2018. We included a total of 10 457 emergency physicians from 31 provinces across China in the analysis. The questionnaire covered socio-demographic characteristics, work-related factors, psychological characteristics, and workplace violence. We applied binary logistic regression to examine the correlated factors of physical and verbal violence among emergency physicians.

The prevalence of physical and verbal violence among emergency physicians in China was 27.63% and 81.81%, respectively. Regarding socio-demographic factors, male emergency physicians with bachelor's degrees or higher, poor sleep quality, and unfavorable health conditions were more likely to experience workplace violence. Concerning work-related factors, emergency physicians who had longer years of service, worked a higher frequency of night shifts per month and served more patients per day had a greater prevalence of workplace violence. As for individual psychological characteristics, negative affect was positively correlated with workplace violence, while self-efficacy and positive affect were negatively correlated with workplace violence.

The situation of physical and verbal violence against emergency physicians in China is severe, especially verbal violence. Hospital administrators should pay more attention to the workplace violence of emergency physicians and take measures to decrease the occurrence of workplace violence efficiently, such as reducing their workload and cultivating their positive affect and self-efficacy.