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Occupational Medicine Advance Access originally published online on May 7, 2008
Occupational Medicine 2008 58(5):361-366; doi:10.1093/occmed/kqn045
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© The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

Experience of workplace violence during medical speciality training in Turkey

Yasemin Acik1, S. Erhan Deveci1, Gulsen Gunes2, Canan Gulbayrak3, Sennur Dabak4, Gunay Saka5, Gulsen Vural6, Gunay Can7, Nursel Gamsiz Bilgin8, Pinar Erbay Dundar9, Toker Erguder10 and Mehmet Tokdemir11

1 Department of Public Health, Firat University Medical Faculty, Elazig, Turkey
2 Department of Public Health, Inonu University Medical Faculty, Malatya, Turkey
3 Region Directorate of Hifzissihha, Ministry of Health, Erzurum, Turkey
4 Department of Public Health, Ondokuz Mayis University Medical Faculty, Samsun, Turkey
5 Department of Public Health, Dicle University Medical Faculty, Diyarbakir, Turkey
6 School of Nursing, Gazi University, Ankara, Turkey
7 Department of Public Health, Cerrahpasa Medical Faculty, Istanbul University, Istanbul, Turkey
8 Department of Forensic Medicine, Mersin University Medical Faculty, Mersin, Turkey
9 Department of Public Health, Celal Bayar University Medical Faculty, Manisa, Turkey
10 Directorate of Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Ankara, Turkey
11 Department of Forensic Medicine, Firat University Medical Faculty, Elazig, Turkey

Aims To determine the type, extent and effects of workplace violence among residents during postgraduate speciality training in various departments of medical schools in Turkey.

Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted in seven medical schools representing all geographical regions of Turkey. All physicians in speciality training in the selected medical schools were asked to complete a semi-structured ‘violence questionnaire’ addressing the type (emotional, physical and sexual) and extent of violence experienced, the perpetrators of the violence and the victim's reactions to the experience.

Results A total of 1712 residents out of 2442 completed the questionnaire. In all, 68% indicated they had experienced some form of workplace violence, 67% had experienced verbal violence, 16% had experienced physical violence and 3% had experienced sexual violence. The victims' most prevalent reactions to violence included being deeply disturbed but feeling they had to cope with it for the sake of their career (39%), being distressed (26%) but considering that such events are common in all occupations and discounting it and being confused and bewildered and unsure how to respond (19%). The most frequently named perpetrators of verbal violence were relatives/friends of patients (36%) and academic staff (36%), followed by other residents/senior residents (21%), patients (20%), heads of department (13%) and non-medical hospital staff (6%).

Conclusions Physicians in speciality training in medical schools in Turkey are subject to significant verbal, physical or sexual violence. Precautions to prevent such exposure are urgently needed.

Keywords      Health care workers; occupation; workplace violence

Correspondence to: Yasemin Acik, Department of Public Health, Firat University Medical Faculty, Elazig, Turkey. Tel: +90 4242333555/2280; Fax: +90 4242379138; e-mail: yacik{at}firat.edu.tr


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