Evaluation of general health, exposure to workplace violence, and predicting its consequences in health care employees in Iran

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Workplace violence is an important event that affects the safety of healthcare employees, and diagnosing it in hospitals is an immediate occupational concern. OBJECTIVE: The present study was conducted to investigate general health and the prevalence of occupational violence and to predict its consequences among nurses and paramedics as the main body in medical settings. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2020 in a selected hospital in Tehran, Iran. A total of 208 healthcare workers participated in the study. To study general health, exposure to workplace violence, job burnout, and productivity, the general health questionnaire (GHQ), the workplace violence questionnaire, the Maslach burnout questionnaire, and the workforce productivity questionnaire were provided to healthcare workers, respectively. Then, a multiple linear regression model was used to predict violence and its consequences. RESULTS: The results revealed that 34.1% of the participants have psychological disorders, and 74.5% have experienced one type of violence in their workplace at least once during the past year. The multiple linear regression model results indicated that workplace violence prevalence proved the ability to predict the increase in burnout and decrease in job productivity. CONCLUSION: Exposure to violence in the workplace significantly increases the risk of mental disorders associated with the risk of mental illness. Therefore, managing exposure to violence in the workplace is a practical step in improving general and mental health and ultimately increasing job productivity in medical settings.