Workplace Violence Against Primary Care Clinicians: A Narrative Review.

Area of Science:

• Occupational Health
• Healthcare Management
• Primary Care Medicine

Background:

• Workplace violence (WPV) is an increasing occupational hazard in healthcare settings.
• Limited data exists on WPV specifically within United States primary care settings.
• Primary care environments differ from inpatient settings, necessitating focused research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To summarize existing literature on WPV in US primary care.
• To identify critical knowledge gaps regarding WPV in this setting.

Main Methods:

• Conducted a literature search using PubMed and OVID for US-based adult primary care studies.
• Expanded search to international studies due to scarcity of US data.
• Performed a narrative review of 70 identified studies (5 US-based).

Main Results:

• WPV is common in primary care globally; most clinicians experience non-physical violence.
• Studies predominantly used cross-sectional designs, reporting both physical and non-physical WPV.
• Women were more likely to experience sexual harassment, with no consistent gender trends for other WPV forms.

Conclusions:

• Root causes of WPV span patient, clinician, encounter, and operational factors.
• Non-physical WPV significantly impacts clinicians emotionally and professionally.
• Further research in US primary care settings is crucial to understand and mitigate WPV.