The Impact of Workplace Violence on Healthcare Professionals: A Cross-Sectional Study for Understanding...

This study aimed to assess the prevalence of workplace violence (WPV) and burnout among healthcare professionals (HCPs) in a regional setting and to examine the relationship between exposure to violence, burnout dimensions and professional attitudes. The study was conducted with a sample of 310 HCPs selected from a population of 930 using a nonprobability sampling method. Data were collected through a socio-demographic and research-specific questionnaire, the Maslach Burnout Scale (MBS) and the Professional Attitudes at Occupation Inventory (PAOI). The mean age of participants was 29.71 ± 4.9 years. Among them, 51.9% reported being exposed to WPV, primarily verbal. Following violence, 72.2% experienced a decrease in work motivation and 83.3% received no managerial support. Age showed a weak negative correlation with all MBS sub-dimensions and a weak positive correlation with PAOI. A significant moderate negative correlation was found between PAOI and emotional exhaustion (EE), depersonalisation (DP) and personal failure (PF). EE and DP were notably higher among those considering leaving the profession due to violence. WPV poses a significant threat to the psychological well-being and professionalism of HCPs. Effective institutional policies-such as accessible violence reporting systems, managerial support, structured emotional management training and AI-based stress monitoring tools-can reduce burnout and strengthen professional identity. Leadership commitment and legal reforms, including stricter penalties for violence, are critical to creating safe, supportive and sustainable healthcare environments. The use of a convenience sampling method limits the generalisability of the findings to the broader healthcare professional population.