Differences in workplace violence and health variables among professionals in a hospital emergency department: A descriptive-comparative study

Introduction Workplace violence is a relevant social problem due to its high prevalence and serious consequences. A quarter of workplace violence occurs in the healthcare sector. Evidence shows differences among professionals, with emergency department workers being especially vulnerable, presenting a higher risk of suffering mental and physical health problems, as well as threats to their professional and social integrity. Objective To explore the frequency with which emergency department professionals are exposed to user violence and violence by their own coworkers; as well as to analyze the differences between different professionals in exposure to violence in the workplace and some of its most studied consequences such as burnout, job satisfaction, engagement, and general health. Methods A descriptive comparative study was carried out with a sample of 120 emergency department workers from three hospitals in Alicante. The majority were healthcare professionals (84.2%), women (61.7%), obtaining a mean age of 41.8 years (SD = 10.8). Sociodemographic and occupational variables, user violence, violence among colleagues and superiors, general health, burnout, engagement, and job satisfaction were evaluated. Results A high prevalence of both physical and non-physical user violence in the healthcare setting was observed, especially affecting nursing and administrative assistants. In addition, significant differences were identified between professionals in terms of non-physical user violence, burnout, engagement, and job satisfaction. Administrative staff suffer greater non-physical user violence, while nursing assistants show higher levels of engagement. Regarding job satisfaction, nurses report higher intrinsic satisfaction. Medical staff, nurses and nursing assistants show higher levels of extrinsic satisfaction compared to administrative staff. Discussion Our results are consistent with other studies in which a relationship between exposure to violence and job satisfaction is observed. In addition, administrative staff appear to be the professionals most exposed to violence from both patients and coworkers. These results provide evidence for future research focused on improving the work environment and health of emergency department professionals.