The relationship between perception of violence against healthcare workers and communication and social problem solving skills of Çukurova University Family Medicine residency students

Objective: Based on the point that it is important to understand how physicians perceive violence and to work on modifiable risk factors, this study aimed to evaluate the perception of violence in research assistant physicians receiving specialty training in family medicine and to investigate its relationship with communication and social problem solving skills. Material and method: The study population consisted of research assistant physicians receiving specialty training in the Department of Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Çukurova University at the time of the study (N=73). Sociodemographic questionnaire form, Health Professionals' Safety and Confidence Scale against Violence, Communication Skills Scale and Social Problem Solving Skills Scale were used to collect the data. Paired t test, Pearson and Spearman correlation coefficients were used in statistical analysis. Results: Of the 73 participants with a mean age of 32.3±6.6 years (24-52), 63.0% were female, 58.9% were married, and 63% were full-time specialty students. It was found that 94.5% of the participants evaluated their basic communication and patient- physician communication skills as good to very good, three out of every five participants had received training on this subject, and 83.6% wanted to receive training. One out of every three participants rated their social problem solving skills as good-very good and 87.7% reported that they would like to receive training on this subject. Similarly, one out of every three participants rated their skills in the management of violence against health professionals as good and 93.2% reported that they would like to receive training on this subject. There was a weak-moderate positive correlation between the 'trust' and 'violence total' subscale scores of the Healthcare Professionals' Safety and Confidence Scale against Violence and 'self-expression', 'active listening, non-verbal communication' and 'communication total' scores; a weak-moderate positive correlation between the 'trust', 'safety' and 'violence total' scores and the 'positive orientation to the problem'score; and a negative weak-moderate negative correlation between the 'negative orientation to the problem' score. When the participants' perceptions of skills in basic communication, patient-physician communication, social problem solving and management of violence against health professionals before and during specialty training were compared, statistically significant increases were found in all skills. Conclusion: Our findings revealing the importance of communication and social problem solving skills in the management of violence against health professionals and the need for training on these issues may provide a basis for curriculum updates, training plans and further research. Keywords: Family medicine, Communication, Problem Solving, Violence, Medical Specialty Education