Affiliations: Division of Insurance Medicine, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden | Occupational and Environmental Medicine, Department of Medical Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
Note: [] Corresponding author: MarjanVaez, Karolinska Institutet, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Division of Insurance Medicine, 171 77 Stockholm, Sweden. Tel.: +46 8 524 83221; Fax: +46 8 524 83205; E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Work-related violence is one of the most serious threats
to employee safety and health. OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the extent of
self-reported violence or threats of violence at work in relation to the
general health of public sector employees. METHODS: The study population comprised 9,611 female (83%) and male
public employees in Sweden. A questionnaire based on items derived mainly from
validated instruments was constructed to cover aspects such as health,
lifestyle, and physical and psychosocial work conditions. RESULTS: One in three employees reported work-related violence, with
the highest proportions among psychiatric nurses (79%) and psychiatric
attendants (75%). Work-related violence more often affected those who were <
45 years old, worked < 40 hours/week, worked nights, or reported poor
health. Regardless of gender, age, hours of work, night work, and type of
occupation, exposure to work-related violence was associated with less than
good general health, and this relationship was strongest for psychiatric nurses
(OR=3.19; 95% CI=1.28–7.98), medical doctors/dentists (OR=2.46; 95%
CI=1.35–4.49), compulsory school teachers (OR=2.14; 95%
CI=1.33–3.45), and other nurses (OR=1.87; 95% CI=1.23–2.84). CONCLUSIONS: Work-related violence was frequently reported by
employees in the most common public sector occupations, and it was associated
with poor health in both genders.
Keywords: Psychiatric nurses, medical doctors/dentists, health status, work conditions, health care workers
