Systematic review and meta-analysis of verbal and physical violence against healthcare workers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region

Abstract

Background: Workplace violence is a serious threat to healthcare workers worldwide. Aim: We aimed to determine the prevalence of physical and verbal violence against healthcare workers in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and Türkiye. Methods: We searched the Medline (via PubMed), Cochrane Library, Scopus, Science Direct, Web of Science and ProQuest databases along with reference lists from selected articles. Studies of health workers exposed to verbal and/or physical violence by patients or their relatives conducted in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region and Türkiye among staff working in hospitals and primary health care services were included. Seventy-five of the 3513 articles identified of studies conducted during 1999–2021 were eligible. The data were analysed using MetaXL version 5.3 and STATA version 16. Results: This study covered 69 024 healthcare workers from 22 countries. Meta-analysis showed that 63.0% (95% CI: 46.7– 79.2) of them had experienced verbal violence and 17.0% (95.0% CI: 14.0–21.0) experienced physical violence. There was no significant difference for sample size, professional group, quality score, or response rate. The frequency of physical and verbal violence in the subgroup analysis was statistically significantly different for countries and years. Conclusion: Findings from this study provide useful information for policymaking regarding interventions to prevent or minimize violence against healthcare workers in the Eastern Mediterranean Region and Türkiye.