The health service environment
Violencia de lugar de trabajo Several health sector occupations, such as doctors, nurses and social workers, appear high in the list of occupations with high stress level, and healthcare workers are particularly at risk of workplace violence – almost one quarter of all violent incidents at work are concentrated in this sector. Ongoing restructuring in the health sector, varying from country to country and situation to situation, exacerbates this. People’s access to health care is endangered if health workers feel under strain in work situations where staff shortages, low pay, shift work, transport to work, and other conditions make them particularly vulnerable to stress and violence; many leave the profession for such reasons.
Scope and impact of violence and stress
For health workers, who have direct contact with people in distress, experiences of stress and of violence are so common that they may be considered an inevitable part of the job.
In the United Kingdom, recent reports show that between one quarter and one half of National Health Service (NHS) staff report significant personal distress, with many stressors being unique to health care. Levels of occupational stress are reportedly higher in the NHS than in otherwise comparable professions, with 28% of nurses suffering at least minor mental health problems, compared to 18% in the general employed population. The costs are high in terms of sickness rates (5%, costing the NHS £700 million each year) and loss of staff: over 30,000 nurses left the profession in 1996 alone, increasing the strain on those who remain.
Violence at work against health personnel is a widespread problem in developing, transition and industrialized countries. While ambulance staff are reported to be at greatest risk, nurses are more likely on average to experience violence at the workplace than other occupational groups. Since the large majority of the health workforce is female, the gender dimension of the problem is evident.
Links to other websites dealing with workplace violence in health services
http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/sectors/health/violence.htm
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