Workplace Violence against Women (WPVAW): The Experience among Healthcare Providers in Nigeria

Abstract

Background: Across the world today, the workplace just like any other public space a woman could find herself has become a place where the woman folk get abused by all categories of people they come in contact with, be it colleagues, service consumers, their relations amongst others.

Aim: The study was aimed at assessing the prevalence of workplace violence against women, severity and perpetrators of abuse among healthcare providers in the health facilities of Northwestern Nigeria.

Material and Method: Descriptive research design was employed for the study where a structured questionnaire was self-administered to a sample of 416 female healthcare providers working across the various public health facilities of Jigawa and Kano states of northwestern Nigeria out of which 96.2% successfully filled and returned their questionnaires.

Results: The results revealed that, majority of healthcare providers (92%) have experienced some form of violence in their working places and patients and their relations were responsible for most of the abuses (86%). It was further found that, violence was mild in 48.5% of cases and severe in 7.5%. Multiple regression model revealed that being a patient/patient relation, use of alcohol, being 20–25 years of age were the predictors of WPVAW perpetration (95% CI).

Conclusion: The prevalence of workplace violence against female healthcare providers was unacceptably high in the health facilities of Northwestern Nigeria as such there is need for new policies to make the workplace safer and further research geared towards predicting and controlling patient violent behaviors.

Keywords: Workplace, violence, prevalence, severity, healthcare, professionals

Cite this Article

Ibrahim Haruna Abdullahi, Kochuthresiamma Thomas, Saleh N. Garba. Workplace Violence (WPVAW) against Female healthcare providers: The Picture in Nothern Nigeria. Research & Reviews: A Journal of Health Professions. 2018; 8(1): 42–46p.