Effect of low-cost interventions to reduce the incidence of violent events in two public sector tertiary-care emergency departments, Pakistan.

Background: Violence against health care workers has been widely reported in Pakistan. Aims: This study, from September 2019 to April 2020, aimed to determine the effect of low-cost interventions to reduce violent events in two tertiary-care emergency departments in Karachi and Peshawar, Pakistan. Methods: In phase one, a surveillance system was established in each department and information on violent events was recorded for three months. In phase two, low-cost interventions designed to reduce violent events were introduced, e.g. awareness-raising material on violence for patients, training for health care workers and visitor identification cards. Violent events were then recorded for another three months and the percentage difference in number of violent events was calculated. Results: In Karachi, 256 violent events occurred before the intervention and 225 after the intervention, a 12.1% reduction. Physical violence events decreased significantly by 42.9% (P = 0.044). The number of events perpetrated by health care workers decreased by 61.9% (P = 0.016) while those perpetrated by patients decreased only by 5.7% (P = 0.538). In Peshawar, 90 violent events occurred before the intervention and 45 events after, a 50.0% reduction (P = 0.009). The number of events perpetrated by health care workers was the same in both phases. Events perpetrated by patients or their companions decreased significantly by 59.72% (P = 0.001). Conclusion: Violence against health care workers can be reduced significantly by improving their prevention and de-escalation skills. Client educational interventions, supplemented with hospital regulations and patient guidance, can also help reduce the incidence of violent events.

The magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers in Pakistan.

Objectives: To determine the magnitude and determinants of violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) and to identify the predominant types and causes of violence experienced by them. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey based on structured questionnaire adopted from previous surveys and qualitative data was conducted in 4 large cities and 12 districts in 3 provinces of Pakistan. The survey covered 8579 from all cadres of HCWs, including doctors, nurses, technicians, support staff, ambulance workers, vaccinators, lady health visitors, midwives and lady health workers (LHWs). The predictors of overall violence experienced, physical violence experienced and verbal violence experienced were separately analysed for tertiary care hospitals, secondary care hospitals, primary care hospitals and field-level HCWs. Logistic regression was used to compute adjusted ORs with 95% CIs for the association of different factors with the violence experienced. Results: More than one-third (38.4%) reported having experienced any form of violence in the last 6 months. Verbal violence was the most commonly experienced form (33.9%), followed by physical violence (6.6%). The main reasons for physical violence were death of patients (17.6%), serious condition of patients (16.6%) and delay in care (13.4%). Among the different types of field HCWs, emergency vehicle operators were significantly more likely to experience verbal violence compared with LHWs (adjusted OR=1.97; 95% CI 1.31 to 2.94; p=0.001). Among hospital HCWs, those working in private hospitals were significantly less likely to experience physical violence (adjusted OR=0.52; 95% CI 0.38 to 0.71; p=0.001) and verbal violence (adjusted OR=0.57; 95% CI 0.48 to 0.68; p=0.001). Conclusion: Violence against HCWs exists in various forms among all cadres and at different levels of care. The gaps in capacity, resources and policies are evident. Specific strategies need to be adopted for different types of HCWs to protect them against violence.*The study was conducted under the framework of ICRC's Healthcare in Danger Initiative for protection of healthcare against Violence.