Violence study of healthcare workers and systems in the Caribbean: ViSHWaS-Caribbean study

Reshon Hadmon; Daniella Myriam Pierre; Akshat Banga; Jacques W Clerville; Hans Mautong; Precious Akinsanya; Rajat Das Gupta; Sama Soliman; Tolupe M Hunjah; Bamidele A Hunjah; Hafeez Hamza; Ruman Khurshid Qasba; Faisal A Nawaz; Salim Surani; Rahul Kashyap

doi:10.5662/wjm.v14.i3.92932

Violence study of healthcare workers and systems in the Caribbean: ViSHWaS-Caribbean study

World J Methodol. 2024 Sep 20;14(3):92932. doi: 10.5662/wjm.v14.i3.92932.

Authors

Reshon Hadmon¹, Daniella Myriam Pierre^{2

3}, Akshat Banga⁴, Jacques W Clerville⁵, Hans Mautong⁶, Precious Akinsanya⁷, Rajat Das Gupta⁸, Sama Soliman⁹, Tolupe M Hunjah¹⁰, Bamidele A Hunjah¹¹, Hafeez Hamza¹², Ruman Khurshid Qasba¹³, Faisal A Nawaz^{2

14}, Salim Surani^{2

15

16}, Rahul Kashyap^{2

17

18}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Medicine, St. George University School of Medicine, Grenada FZ818, West Indies.
² Department of Research, Global Remote Research Scholar Program, St Paul, MN 55101, United States.
³ Department of Public Health, Cuny Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY 10027, United States.
⁴ Department of Internal Medicine, Sawai Man Singh Medical College, Jaipur 302004, India.
⁵ School of Public Health, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA 30302, United States.
⁶ Department of Sociology and Demography, School of Health, Universidad de Especialidades Espiritu Santo, Samborondon 092301, Ecuador.
⁷ Department of Medicine, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, NJ 07666, United States.
⁸ Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, United States.
⁹ Department of Medicine, Pavlov First State Medical University of St Petersburg, Sankt-Peterburg 197022, Russia.
¹⁰ Department of Medicine, University of Suffolk, Ipswich IP4 1QJ, United Kingdom.
¹¹ Department of Medicine, Unicaf University of Zambia, Lusaka 20842, Zambia.
¹² Department of Pharmacy, School of Pharmacy, Girne 99428, Cyprus.
¹³ Department of Medicine, Sher-i-Kashmir, Institute of Medical Science, Srinagar 190011, India.
¹⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Al Amal Psychiatric Hospital, Emirates Health Services, Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
¹⁵ Department of Medicine and Pharmacology, Texas A and M University, College Station, TX 77843, United States.
¹⁶ Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, United States. srsurani@hotmail.com.
¹⁷ Anesthesiology and Critical Care, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN 55905, United States.
¹⁸ Department of Research, Wellspan Health, York, PA 17403, United States.

Abstract

Background: Violence against healthcare workers (HCWs) in the Caribbean continues to prevail yet remains underreported. Our aim is to determine the cause, traits, and consequences of violence on HCWs in the Caribbean.

Aim: To determine the cause, traits, and consequences of violence on HCWs in the Caribbean.

Methods: This research adopted an online cross-sectional survey approach, spanning over eight weeks (between June 6^th and August 9^th, 2022). The survey was generated using Research Electronic Data Capture forms and followed a snowballing strategy to contact individuals using emails, social media, text messages, etc. Logistic regression analysis was performed to evaluate the variables that influence violence, including gender, age, years of experience, institution type, and night shift frequency.

Results: The survey was completed by 225 HCWs. Females comprised 61%. Over 51% of respondents belonged to the 21 to 35 age group. Dominica (n = 61), Haiti (n = 50), and Grenada (n = 31) had the most responses. Most HCWs (49%) worked for government academic institutions, followed by community hospitals (23%). Medical students (32%), followed by attending physicians (22%), and others (16%) comprised the most common cadre of respondents. About 39% of the participants reported experiencing violence themselves, and 18% reported violence against colleague(s). Verbal violence (48%), emotional abuse (24%), and physical misconduct (14%) were the most common types of violence. Nearly 63% of respondents identified patients or their relatives as the most frequent aggressors. Univariate logistic regression analyses demonstrated that female gender (OR = 2.08; 95%CI: 1.16-3.76, P = 0.014) and higher frequency of night shifts (OR = 2.22; 95%CI: 1.08-4.58, P = 0.030) were associated with significantly higher odds of experiencing violence. More than 50% of HCWs felt less motivated and had decreased job satisfaction post-violent conduct.

Conclusion: A large proportion of HCWS in the Caribbean are exposed to violence, yet the phenomenon remains underreported. As a result, HCWs' job satisfaction has diminished.

Keywords: Caribbean; Cross-sectional study; Healthcare workers; Survey; ViSHWaS; Violence; Workplace violence.