Workplace violence among prehospital care providers in India: a cross-sectional study

Objectives The purpose of this study was twofold: (1) establish the prevalence of safety threats and workplace violence (WPV) experienced by emergency medical technicians (EMTs) in a low/middle-income country with a new prehospital care system, India and (2) understand which EMTs are at particularly high risk for these experiences. Setting EMTs from four Indian states (Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Telangana) were eligible to participate during the study period from July through November 2017. Methods Cross-sectional survey study. Participants 386 practicing EMTs from four Indian states. Results The overall prevalence of any WPV was 67.9% (95% CI 63.0% to 72.5%). The prevalence of physical assault was 58% (95% CI 52.5% to 63.4%) and verbal assault was 59.8% (95% CI 54.5% to 65%). Of physical assault victims, 21.7% were injured and 30.2% sought medical attention after the incident. Further, 57.3% (n=216) of respondents reported they were 'somewhat worried' and 28.4% (n=107) reported they were 'very worried' about their safety at work. Conclusion WPV and safety fears were found to be common among EMTs in India. Focused initiatives to counter WPV in countries developing prehospital care systems are necessary to build a healthy and sustainable prehospital healthcare workforce.