Evaluation of the exposure of physicians and nurses working in Düzce University Research and Application Hospital and the effects of this situation on employees

Purpose: Violence is one of the most uncontrolled social phenomena of our age, which has been a part of human life from the beginning of humanity to the present, affecting all social professions, age groups and ethnic groups. The aim of this study is to examine the frequency of being subjected to violence, situations that cause violence, post-violence attitude and short and long-term effects of violence, to evaluate the burnout levels of employees and to evaluate their relation with violence. Materials and Methods: Our descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with physicians and nurses working in different departments at Düzce University Research and Application Hospital between October 2020 and February 2021. Not wanting to participate in the study and not caring for active patients were determined as exclusion criteria, and a total of 356 people, including 166 nurses and 190 physicians, were reached. Questionnaire method was used in the study, and after 24 questions including demographic information, questions about working conditions and finally, questions about violence, a total of 46 questions were asked together with the 22-question Maslach Burnout Scale. Conclusion: In our study, the frequency of the participants being exposed to violence throughout their professional life was found to be 74.4%. The most common type of violence was psychological violence (92.7%), exposure to physical violence was more common in the male gender (22.7%) (p = 0.000). It was found that as the time spent in the profession and the number of patients cared for daily increased, the exposure to violence increased (p <0.05). The exposure to violence in the last year was found to be less in faculty members (P = 0.002) and those who worked longer in their profession (p = 0.000). In the type of violence exposed, the highest rate of swearing and insult (71.1%) was received. 70.5% of the participants stated that the pandemic process did not affect the attitudes and behaviors of the patients and their relatives. When sub-dimensions of burnout are examined, the scores of the "emotional exhaustion" and "depersonalization" dimensions are generally parallel to each other; It was found to be higher in those who were exposed to violence, among physicians working in surgical branches, research assistants and nurses compared to faculty members, in the age group ≥29 compared to the age of 40, and those exposed to physical violence (p <0.05). Results: Many studies conducted in our country on healthcare professionals and the results of this study show that; Violence is a serious problem that is increasing day by day in the health sector, decreasing the motivation of employees and their ties with their work, and causing mental, emotional and physical problems. In order to deal with this problem, instead of ignoring the problem, we should reveal the violence and the destructive effect of violence through more comprehensive studies. In order to reduce the problem of violence in health, healthcare professionals, politicians, society, media managers and non-governmental organizations should act together. Keywords: Healthcare workers, violence, burnout