A Global Survey of Impact of Violence against Healthcare Workers in Critical Care Settings: Vishwas

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: A rise in the incidents of violence against Health Care Workers (HCWs) in recent years calls for improvement in modes of spreading awareness and educating the public. We aimed to conduct a large global cross-sectional survey called ViSHWaS- Violence Study of Healthcare Workers and Systems in the departments of Anesthesiology, Critical Care Medicine, and Emergency medicine. METHOD(S) A global survey after tool validation, was created using REDCap forms and distributed from June 5th to July 24th, 2022. Communication tools including emails, phone calls, SMS, and social media applications like WhatsApp, Twitter, and LinkedIn were used in securing responses. This study was deemed eligible for category-2 Institutional Review Board exempt status. RESULT(S) Total of 598 responses from 69 countries, out of these 445 (74%) were complete. The maximum responses were from India (N=49), followed by the USA (N=44) and while those from the other 67 countries ranged from N=1-30. Out of these, 221 (50%) were female, the majority (56%) were in the 26-35 years category, followed by (19%) in 36-45 years. The participants encompassed 156 (35%) consultants, 97 (22%) nurses and the rest were residents/fellows in training, auxiliary/ staff, advanced registered nurse practitioners (ARNP), physician assistants (PA), researcher and others. The vast majority (73%) reported facing violence within the past year;Verbal (63%) and physical (39%) were the most commonly reported. Total 126 (28.3%) reported that patient and/or family member as the type of aggressor they/ their colleague encountered most frequently. A majority (75%) reported that the incidence of violence has either stayed the same (39%) or increased (36%) during COVID-19 pandemic. Because of violent episodes, 48% felt less motivated/ had decreased job satisfaction;an additional 25% were willing to quit. While half of respondents were familiar with Occupational Safety and Health standards, only 20% felt prepared to handle aggressive situation. CONCLUSION(S) In this global cross-sectional survey, a majority of HCWs reported to have faced violence. They felt that it either increased or stayed the same during the COVID-19 pandemic. It has led to decreased job satisfaction. Majority of those, who responded, felt unprepared to handle the violence.