PHYSICAL VIOLENCE AGAINST HEALTH WORKERS: A META-ANALYSIS STUDY

Abstract

Violence is an issue that is seen and examined in the health sector as in all sectors. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), approximately half a million people are killed by violence every year and millions of people are adversely affected by violence-related injuries. In this respect, healthcare workers need to work in a safe environment first and foremost in order to fulfill their duties well. Violence in healthcare institutions consists of all kinds of physical, verbal and sexual assaults by patients, their relatives or any other individual, which pose a risk to healthcare workers. In this context, studies investigating the incidents of physical violence experienced by healthcare workers between 2017 and 2022 were examined and the findings of 10 studies were discussed within the restrictions established. In this study, 10 studies selected according to the appropriate parameters related to violence against healthcare workers were examined with the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Software (CMA) program. According to the findings of the research, it was concluded that the studies on physical violence against healthcare workers generally yielded common results and that the incidence of physical violence in healthcare services was significantly high in the 95% confidence interval. The results obtained in the context of the studies examined were determined to be at similar levels of exposure to physical violence in studies involving hospitals and all health institutions