physical violence against nurses in hospital

health care workers are among the groups with high frequently of exposure to workplace violence and the real dimensions of this problem have not yet been clearly defined. the aim of this study was to review the exposure of nurses to physical violence. in this cross sectional descriptive study, a total 450 nurses completed a standard questionnaire. the survey elicited demographic information and various aspect of personal experience of violence. data collection lasted for about six months (september 2006 to march 2007) in three academic hospitals of baqiyatallah university of medical science in iran. ninety six nurses (21.3%) reported at least one exposure to physical violence during one year ago. exposure was more among nurses with more than 10 years of work experience. most of the invasions were done by patients' fellows. in internal wards violence exposure had been occurred more than other ones. sections of employment and types of employment had statistical differences among exposure or non-exposure groups ( p =0.03). due to some doubt of nurses in expressing violence experiences and recalling bias, explanation of relative low prevalence of violence exposure should be done cautiously. it is necessary that some comprehensive and screening researches be implemented and preventive program as well as proper management plus reporting system be designed.