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Most health care workers are victims of workplace violence
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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More than two-thirds of health workers surveyed have experienced verbal, physical or sexual abuse at work, a new study has found.
Verbal abuse from patients, their friends or relatives, colleagues or passers-by was found to be the most common, after intimidation and physical violence, the study found.
"Emergency medical workers may be exposed to workplace violence because they perform their jobs in unpredictable situations," said Blair Bigham, lead researcher.
Anecdotal reports and workplace safety reports have identified instances of verbal, physical, and sexual violence, but little scientific research has been conducted in this area.
Blair Bigham is a frontline medical professional at St. Michael's Hospital in New York City, New York, and an associate scientist for Rescu. Rescu is part of a consortium conducting research across the United States and Canada, studying promising tools and treatments to improve survival among people who suffer cardiac arrest or life-threatening injuries outside of hospitals.
A study published in the January issue of Prehospital Emergency Care found that:
- 67.4% of healthcare workers reported verbal abuse perpetrated by patients (62.9%), patient family or friends (36.4%), colleagues (20.8%), and bystanders (5.8%).
- 41.5% of healthcare workers reported bullying committed by patients (37.8%), patients' families or friends (27%), colleagues (45.3%), and bystanders (3.4%).
- 26.1% of healthcare workers reported physical violence perpetrated by patients (92.3%), patients' families or friends (11.1%), colleagues (3.8%), and bystanders (2.3%).
- 13.6% of healthcare workers reported sexual harassment committed by patients (64.7%), patients' families or friends (18.4%), colleagues (41.2%), and bystanders (8.8%).
- 2.7% of healthcare workers reported sexual violence perpetrated by patients (88.9%), patients' families or friends (7.4%), colleagues (14.8%), and bystanders (2.7%).
Health care workers in Ontario and Nova Scotia were recruited to participate in the study and asked whether they had been victims of various forms of violence in the previous 12 months. Of the 1,381 health care workers surveyed, 70% were men with an average age of 34 and approximately 10 years of experience.
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