ArticleBMC health services research2023
Prevalence and correlates of workplace violence against medical assistants in Germany: a cross-sectional study.
Article in BMC health services research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
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Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Workplace violence against hospital personnel in Tunisia: prevalence, associated psychological and behavioral outcomes, and legal actions.Frontiers in public health · 2026Article
- Rethinking violence prevention in elderly and special needs care: requirements for digital solutions.Frontiers in psychiatry · 2026Article
- Prevalence, pattern, and predictors of WPV against medical interns in Southwest Nigeria: a cross-sectional study.Annals of medicine · 2025Article
- Workplace Violence Is Home Now for Healthcare Workers: Spillover Theory Perspective.Stress and health : journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress · 2025Article
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
backgroundWorkplace violence is widespread, but studies on workplace violence against health professions in outpatient settings are sparse. We aimed to examine, for the first time, the prevalence of workplace violence against medical assistants as well as potential sociodemographic, occupational and health-related correlates of the exposure to workplace violence.
methodsWe used data from a survey (03-05/2021) among medical assistants in Germany (n = 424). We assessed the 12-month prevalence (yes/no) of verbal violence, physical violence, and sexual harassment as well as the types of perpetrators of workplace violence. Further, information was gathered on sociodemographic (e.g., age, educational level), occupational (e.g., years in job), and mental health-related factors (i.e., anxiety, depression). The 12-month prevalences of the different types of workplace violence were merged into a single variable ("any workplace violence" vs. none) for association analysis. We ran multivariable Poisson regression models to examine potential associations between sociodemographic and occupational correlates (i.e., independent variables) with any workplace violence as dependent variable and in addition between any workplace violence (independent variable) and dichotomized mental health as dependent variable.
resultsOverall, 59.4% of the medical assistants reported verbal violence, 5.9% reported physical violence, 3.8% reported sexual harassment, and 60.1% reported any workplace violence in the previous 12 months. Patients were reported to be the main perpetrators, followed by patients' relatives. Younger age, being single, and working in a medical care center were sociodemographic and occupational correlates of workplace violence (PRs ≥ 1.27). Workplace violence was significantly associated with mental health variables (PRs ≥ 1.72).
conclusionMedical assistants experience workplace violence, in particular verbal violence. To devise preventive measures, prospective studies are needed to confirm the potential risk groups for workplace violence and the potential mental health sequels of workplace violence observed in our study.
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