227704 Determinants and Characteristics of Violence at Emergency Departments: The case of Lebanese hospitals

Monday, November 8, 2010

Mohamad Alameddine, MPH, PhD , Health Management and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Amin Kazzi, MD, FAAEM , Department of Emergency Medicine, American University of Beirut Medical Center, Beirut, Lebanon
Fadi El-Jardali, MPH, PhD , Health Management and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Hani Dimassi, MPH, PhD , School of Pharmacy, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon
Salwa Maalouf, MA , Health Management and Policy, Faculty of Health Sciences, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
Emergency departments (EDs) are the setting where workers are potentially exposed to a higher incidence of verbal abuse and physical violence. This study investigates the incidence, determinants and outcomes of violence against ED workers in Lebanese hospitals.

We surveyed all ED workers in six large tertiary hospitals in Beirut, Lebanon. The survey instrument included four sections collecting demographic/professional information and measuring exposure to violence, degree of job satisfaction and degree of burnout. The survey was distributed to all ED employees at participating hospitals (attendings, nurses, undergraduate and postgraduate medical trainees, administrative personnel and security guards). The questionnaire was completed by 256 ED workers (70.3% response rate). Multinomial and binary logistic regression were used to investigate determinants of verbal and physical violence.

Over the last twelve months, 80% of ED workers were verbally abused and 25% were physically assaulted. The main perpetrators of violence were family members and/or friends (80%). Significant determinants of violence included age, working as a nurse, working in a public institution and working on a full-time basis. Exposure to verbal and physical violence was associated with an increased intention to quit ED work (p<0.05).

Violence appears to be tolerated in Lebanese EDs. It is leading to higher levels of burnout and inevitably turnover. Special attention should be dedicated to nurses and employees of public hospitals. Decision and policy makers must work towards a violence free work environment.

Learning Objectives:
1.To assess the incidence of violence against Emergency Department workers in Lebanese Hospitals 2.To describe the types of violence that workers are exposed to in Emergency Department in Lebanese Hospitals 3.To investigate the determinants of violence against Emergency Department workers in Lebanese Hospitals.

Keywords: Workplace Safety, Violence Prevention

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the principle investigator on this project. I have formulated the idea and the research questions. I also have worked on the methodology and secured the IRB approval. I have overseen data collection and worked on data analysis and write up.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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