Study on factors inducing workplace violence in Chinese hospitals based on the broken window theory: a cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES To explore the potential components of hospital workplace violence (HWPV) from the perspectives of hospital administrators and patients, and put forward corresponding strategies for its prevention and control. SETTING Using convenience sampling methods, 116 hospitals in 14 provinces of China were surveyed using a self-designed questionnaire. METHODS A cross-sectional study was used. PARTICIPANTS Hospital administrators and patients from 116 hospitals in 14 provinces of China. RESULTS First, hospital administrators point of workplace factors included six factors, with the following weighting coefficients: hospital administrator factors (29.40%), patient-related factors (20.08%), hospital environmental factors (19.45%), policy and institutional factors (11.92%), social psychological factors (10.26%), objective events factors (8.89%). Second, patients from the hospital workplace predisposing factors included three common factors. The weight coefficients of these were hospital-related factors (60.27%), social and governmental factors (23.64%) and patient-related factors (16.09%). CONCLUSIONS A wide range of factors according to hospital administrators, patients and in the hospital environment play important roles in HWPV. From the perspectives of hospital administrators, communication skills and attitude to the service are important factors for inducing HWPV. From the perspective of patients, the characteristics of staff personalities and medical cognition are more important inducing factors. As far as social factors are concerned, economic compensation of medical malpractice is an important inducing factor for HWPV. In terms of environmental factors, management of Chinese medical hospitals, medical procedures and the layout of departments are all potential factors for the occurrence of violence. Corresponding defects were exposed in the health legal system and the supervision system for influencing public opinion.