Association Between Workplace Violence Emergency Response And Mental Health Of Medical Staff And Its Gender Differences

BackgroundWith the rapid development of medical and health care in China,the doctor-patient relationship in China has become increasingly fragile,and the workplace violence against medical staff has become more and more serious.In medical institutions,workplace violence has a serious impact on the occupational safety,physical and mental health of health professionals.The psychological problems of medical staff are highlighted.The goal of eliminating workplace violence cannot be achieved by only relying on measures such as cracking down on perpetrators and eliminating the risk factors of workplace violence.Based on research related to stress,coping,and mental health,it is particularly important to focus on workplace violence emergency response among medical staff in healthcare facilities.Exploring the relationship between workplace violence emergency response and mental health is important for controlling and addressing workplace violence and reducing the negative impact of workplace violence.In addition,gender differences are an important topic in studies related to workplace violence and mental health of medical staff.Currently,there is a lack of research examining the correlation between workplace violence emergency response and mental health and its gender differences.ObjectiveTo understand the current situation of workplace violence,workplace violence emergency response,and mental health of medical staff in Shandong Province.To investigate the relationship between workplace violence,workplace violence emergency response and mental health of medical staff in medical institutions on the basis of verifying the correlation between workplace violence and mental health of medical staff.We further discuss whether there are gender differences in the correlations between workplace violence,workplace violence emergency response and mental health.Based on the findings of the study,corresponding recommendations are proposed.Ultimately,the purpose of providing a theoretical basis for the promotion and selection of emergency response for medical staff of different genders is achieved.MethodsThis study was based on a cross-sectional design,using a multiple stratified random cluster sampling method to select medical staff for a questionnaire survey in Shandong Province.The survey included socio-demographic characteristics,work-related characteristics,mental health status,workplace violence,workplace violence emergency response and social support.The mental health status and social support were obtained by the Chinese version of the Kessler 10 scale and the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support(MSPSS),respectively.Basic conditions were described separately for the overall sample and for those in the sample who had experienced workplace violence.One-way ANOVA and Pearson correlation were used for the univariate analysis of mental health status.Multiple linear regression models were constructed,stratified by gender,to analyze the correlation between workplace violence,workplace violence contingency response and their mental health status,respectively.Results(1)A total of 3488 questionnaires were collected in this study,of which 3426(98.2%)were valid.The overall mental health level among the respondents was 22.2±7.5,with 22.6±7.9 for males and 22.0±7.3 for females.52.2%of medical staff had experienced workplace violence.(2)The mental health scores of medical staff who had experienced workplace violence were higher(β=0.236,P<0.001).The correlation between workplace violence and mental health was statistically significant among medical staff of different genders(female β=0.224 P<0.001,male β=0.267 P<0.001).(3)Medical staff who experienced workplace violence:compared with avoidance,medical staff who used counterattack,alarm,and other emergency responses had lower mental health scores(counterattack β=-0.049 P=0.038,alarm β=-0.085 P<0.001,other β=0.071 P=0.003).(4)The correlation between workplace violence emergency response and mental health had gender differences.Compared with avoidance,male medical staff had lower mental health scores for taking counterattack(β=-0.106,P=0.015)and alarm(β=-0.113,P=0.011)as emergency response.Female medical staff who took the alarm and other emergency responses had lower mental health scores compared with those who took the avoidance(alarm β=-0.077,P=0.008,other β=-0.076,P=0.008).Conclusions and SuggestionsConclusions(1)The mental health of medical staff in Shandong Province is poor,and the incidence of workplace violence is high.The main emergency response of medical staff facing workplace violence is avoidance,and the remaining emergency responses are counterattack,police and others in order.(2)Exposure to workplace violence among medical staff was significantly and negatively associated with mental health.For both men and women,experience of workplace violence was a risk factor for mental health.(3)The adoption of police,counterattack,and other as workplace violence emergency response by medical staff was positively associated with mental health.There were gender differences in the correlation between workplace violence emergency response and mental health:adoption of alarm,counterattack as emergency response was positively associated with the mental health of male medical staff and the association with the mental health of female medical staff was not statistically significant.The adoption of alarm and other emergency responses by medical staff was positively correlated with mental health,and the correlation between other types of emergency responses and male mental health was not statistically significant.Suggestions(1)Medical staff should take the initiative to defend their interests when responding to workplace violence and avoid using avoidance as an emergency response method.(2)Medical institutions and the government need to pay more attention to emergency response to workplace violence,increase intervention and training for medical staff emergency response,and develop and promote emergency response that is beneficial to the mental health of medical staff.When training and intervening with medical personnel,appropriate adjustments should be made based on their gender.Strengthen psychological counseling,mental health education,and improve the level of social support for medical staff.(3)At the same time,we call for more scholars to participate in the theoretical study of workplace violence emergency response to provide more theoretical basis for the practical application of emergency response for medical staff.