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0085 Cross-sectional study – the prevalence and effects of workplace violence against medical staff in three hospitals of Tbilisi, Georgia
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  1. M Kareli,
  2. N Pitskhelauri
  1. Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia

Abstract

Statement of purpose Violence at work is present at all work environments however, healthcare workers are at greater risk and the vast majority of cases go unreported. Existing scientific literature reveals that Workplace Violence (WPV) in health sector is very problematic in developing and transitional countries. Georgia as a developing country faces loads of human rights violation, including workplace violence, especially in the health care sector, however at present time there are no accurate and reliable data available. The main aim of the study was to assess prevalence, magnitude, consequences and potential risk factors of WVP against Medical Staff in three hospitals of Tbilisi.

Methods/Approach The cross-sectional study was conducted from May 2020 to August 2020 in three hospitals of Tbilisi. We used adapted and translated version of ‘Workplace violence in the health sector country case studies research instruments survey questionnaires’. After proving validity of the questionnaire, we distributed its online version. Statistical Analysis was performed in IBM SPSS Statistics 23. Fisher’s Exact Test was used for finding associations

Results A total study population included 80 medical staff from three different hospitals of Tbilisi, Georgia. Medical staff had experienced different types of WPV, including: Verbal Threat or assault 61,5%, physical assault -7.5%, sexual harassment – 2.5% and sexual assault- 1.5%. 41% of study participants considered violence as part of their job and 29% considered as part of their profession.

Conclusions Our study has indicated overall workplace prevalence against healthcare workers to be high in three hospitals of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Significance Violence is preventable, first step in violence prevention is recognizing that WPV is real and is one of the safety and health hazards. Guidelines for preventing and managing WPV are essential, each hospital should have mandatory violence reporting system and violence prevention policy, medical staff should not feel that violence is tolerable.

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