Almost 90 percent of Kerala Doctors exposed to Workplace Violence, says new Study

Almost 90% of doctors working in Kerala have experienced some kind of violence in workplace, according to a recent study performed by Kunnath. et al has reported.

The growing acts of violence are making doctors contemplate moving abroad, the recent result of a cross-sectional study on doctors has revealed.

The cross-sectional study results have been published in the journal Cureus.

The rising tide of aggression towards medical professionals is a worldwide issue that is starkly apparent in India as well. The southern state of Kerala is no exception to this and has seen a significant rise in violent acts against doctors in recent times.

This prompted Doctors at the Department of Community Medicine at GMC Kozhikode to examine the prevalence and types of violence against doctors in Kerala, considering factors, such as gender, workplace, designation, timing, and those involved

They performed a cross-sectional study involving modern medicine doctors holding a minimum degree in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS), practicing in Kerala. Data collection used validated questionnaires distributed as Google Forms through WhatsApp and email after obtaining contact details from the Indian Medical Association, Kerala wing. A total of 2,400 doctors across all 14 districts participated, and data analysis was done using the IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 21.

Among the 1948 respondents, it was noted that a whopping 1279 that is 65.6% of the doctors reported that they had experienced some sort of violence, where

• 11.50 or 89.9% of the doctors reporting violence reported predominantly verbal abuse whereas 418 (32.7%) reported intimidation by gestures
• The majority of violent episodes occurred during daylight hours, accounting for 84.7% of incidents, while 32% took place outside of working hours.
• The emergency room triage saw the most violence at 57.5%, with outpatient services following at 33.6%.
• In most cases, the violence was perpetrated by patients' relatives or onlookers, at 81.5%.
• Despite nearly half (48.6%) of these incidents being reported, only a small fraction (13.5%) led to any preventative action being implemented.

This situation has led to a considerable number of doctors, 76.7%, considering the possibility of moving abroad for work, the researchers also concluded

“:This research underscores the alarming prevalence of workplace violence against doctors in Kerala, echoing global trends. The inadequate implementation of preventive measures highlights the gap between awareness and action, necessitating an examination of barriers in healthcare settings,” the authors noted in their conclusion

Reference: Kunnath R, Thayyil J, Suresh N, et al. (November 16, 2023) Workplace Violence Faced by Medical Doctors in Kerala, India. Cureus 15(11): e48887. doi:10.7759/cureus.48887