Introduction Workplace violence is a common problem that is encountered by healthcare workers worldwide; however, it is still under-studied in Saudi Arabia. This study aims to determine the prevalence of workplace violence and to explore reasons for not reporting it among healthcare workers in a tertiary medical city in Riyadh. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted among 404 healthcare workers who had direct contact with patients or their relatives in a tertiary care medical city in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were analyzed using Statistical Analysis Software Package (SPSS; IBM, Armonk, NY, USA). Results Most participants (81.4%) had experienced verbal, physical, academic, or sexual violence. Approximately 39.6% of those who experienced workplace violence did not report the incident, and the most common reason for not reporting was identified as "reporting would not accomplish anything" (49.4%). About 27.5% of violence victims did not know how to report the incidents. Patients or their relatives were the main sources of violence across all violence categories except academic violence, in which consultant physicians were the main source. Conclusions The prevalence of workplace violence in the population studied was higher than anticipated compared to similar studies both in Saudi Arabia and globally. Almost half of those who were subjected to violence did not report the incident, believing that reporting would not change anything. There is arguably an urgent need to develop strategies that reduce workplace violence and facilitate reporting it in hospitals. Moreover, awareness programs regarding the negative impacts of violence against healthcare workers on the quality of care are necessary.
Keywords: health personnel; saudi arabia; sexual harassment; violence; workplace.
Copyright © 2021, Alharbi et al.