Citation

Xiao Y, Du N, Chen TT, Cheng HF. Fam. Pract. 2022; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, Oxford University Press)

DOI

10.1093/fampra/cmac120

PMID

36271839

Abstract

As doctors working at the clinical front line, we found the article "The occurrence and consequences of violence against healthcare workers in Turkey: before and during the COVID-19 pandemic"1 thought-provoking. By distributing a structured online questionnaire to health professionals (HPs) in different medical institutions, the authors determined the frequency, causes, and consequences of workplace violence (WPV) against HPs before and during the pandemic. The results of this study1 show that during the pandemic, a quarter of HPs were subjected to violence. The most common kind of violence was verbal violence. On the other hand, more than half of the HPs did not report violent incidents. Finally, this article1 delivers the key message that special efforts should be made to minimize violence against HPs. However, the authors did not propose any specific measures to solve the problem of violence in the medical workplace. According to a recent systematic review,2 violence against HPs became more serious during the COVID-19 epidemic, thus predisposing HPs to high levels of mental stress as well as an increased tendency to develop mental health problems. These mishaps could make HPs frustrated with their job and may promote the intention of quitting their profession.3,4 To stop this imminent danger, based on the experience of global health practice, we will explore how to take effective measures to prevent WPV against HPs.

Language: en