Workplace Violence Against Doctors in Khartoum State, Sudan, 2020

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence against healthcare workers and especially doctors are now clearly taken as a rapidly rising health  problem in Sudan with great political and legal concerns. The current study was aimed at exploring the prevalence of verbal and physical workplace violence, the major factors associated with it, and its consequences reported by medical staff in Khartoum, Sudan government hospitals in 2020.

Methods: This cross-sectional study utilized self-administered questionnaires to collect data on aspects of workplace violence against doctors working in the government hospitals of Khartoum, Sudan. A nine-item self-reported workplace violence scale was used. An online survey of self-reported work-related violence exposure during the preceding 12 months was sent to conveniently selected doctors. In total, 387 doctors completed the questionnaire in 2020. Data were analyzed using the SPSS version 26.

Results: One hundred and ninety five (50%) respondents reported they were victims of violence in the previous 12 months; 92% of them experienced nonphysical violence; while female doctors were more likely to experience this type of violence (67%), younger respondents <30 years of age were more likely to encounter violent episodes. Results show an association between exposure to physical violence and working at an emergency department. The assailants were mostly males in the age group of 19–35 years (70.2%), most of them were under no influence (60.8%).

Conclusion: Approximately one in every two doctors had experienced some degree of violence, either physical or nonphysical or both, and it was negatively reflected on their psychological status as well as their work performance.

Keywords: violence, workplace, doctors, physical, nonphysical