Prevalence and Pattern of Workplace Violence among Nurses and Other Hospital Personals in Two Selected Hospitals in Ogun State

In the health care sector, all categories of healthcare workers are at risk of violence though at different degrees, hence this study point out some of the violence melted against nurses and other healthcare workers.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to look into the prevalence and patterns of workplace violence exposure and its reported impacts between Nurses and other health practitioners in few but major health-care settings in Ogun State, Nigeria.

Methodology: A quantitative research design was used in the study. A random sampling technique was also employed. A total of 372 completed questionnaires out of 1000 were returned after consistent persuasion. Of the 372 returned questionnaires, only 257 were filled. The data entered into the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were analyzed using descriptive statistics, test of differences and associations.

The survey revealed that, on average, 41%–45% of nurses suffer workplace violence on a regular basis from senior colleagues, doctors, other health professionals, and outsiders. This ratio suggests that one in three nurses experience violent attacks at work on a regular basis. The most frequent kind of violence faced by nurses was undermining work owing to an unmanageable and unhealthy workload, which was followed by verbal abuse and constant criticism. Despite the fact that attacks by doctors were rather common, their proportion did not statistically differ from attacks by other study participants. The fact that the attackers inflicted no harm is the most depressing aspect of all the sick attacks. Therefore, it is crucial that problematic work environments that might lead to physical abuse and hostile interactions (humiliation and ridicule) at the workplace be checked by policies, while health professionals should be counseled to accept and respect one another.