Workplace violence against nurses in emergency departments in Jordan

Background: Hospital violence against healthcare providers, especially nurses, is a significant concern in every healthcare setting in the world. Aim: To assess the incidence, characteristics and contributing factors of workplace violence committed against nurses in hospital emergency departments in Jordan. Method: A cross-sectional study design was carried out from 1 May to 31 July 2011. The study included the 12 provinces of Jordan by randomly choosing one hospital from each province. A convenient sample of 227 nurses met the inclusion criteria. Chi-square testing and odds ratio were used to analyse the data. Findings: The total number of participants was 227. More than three-quarters of the participants (75.8%) were exposed to at least one type of violence. The number of incidents of verbal violence was approximately fivefold that of the number of incidents of physical violence. Among the perpetrators of verbal violence, patients were the primary perpetrators. Conclusion: Large-scale studies investigating the consequences of violence on nursing satisfaction and the quality and quantity of care administered to the community in the healthcare sector are recommended.