Prevalence and Risk Factors ofWorkplace Violence towardMental Health Staff Departments in Jordanian Hospitals

abstract

A cross-sectional study (n = 262) was conducted to assess the prevalence of workplace violence among mental health departments staff in Jordan. The findings showed that 67.2% of the respondents were victims of at least one violent incident in the last year. Verbal abuse was the most reported type of violence. Patients were considered as the main source of violence. The contributing factors to workplace violence include being unmarried and working longer shifts. Sadly, just being a healthcare worker was found to also be a factor in the incidence of increased workplace violence. As a result of these findings, workplace violence policies and legislation should be instituted, and mental health department staff should be trained on violence-management policies.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all mental health staff departments who participated in the current study. Furthermore, the authors also thank the supervisors who helped in recollecting the questionnaires at the end of the data collection process.