A Systematic Literature Review: Workplace Violence Against Emergency Medical Services Personnel

CONTEXT: In spite of the high prevalence and consequences of much workplace violence against emergency medical services personnel, this phenomenon has been given insufficient attention. A systematic review can aid the development of guidelines to reduce violence. OBJECTIVES: The research question addressed by this paper is, "What are the characteristics and findings of studies on workplace violence against emergency medical services personnel"? DATA SOURCES: A systematic literature review was conducted using online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Google Scholar, and Magiran) with the help of experienced librarians. STUDY SELECTION: Inclusion criteria comprised studies in the English or Persian language and researcher's access to the full text. There was no limit to the entry of the study design. Exclusion criteria included lack of access to the full text of the article, studies published in unreliable journals or conferences, and studies in which the results were shared with other medical or relief groups and there was no possibility of breaking down the results. DATA EXTRACTION: A "Data extraction form" was designed by the researchers based on the goals of the study that included the title and author(s), study method (type, place of study, sample size, sampling method, and data collection/analysis tool), printing location, information related to the frequency of types of violence, characteristics of victims /perpetrators, and related factors. RESULTS: The papers reviewed utilized a variety of locations and environments, methods, and instrument samplings. The majority of the studies were performed using the quantitative method. No intervention study was found. Most studies focused on the prevalence of violence, and their results indicated that exposure to violence was high. The results are presented in six major themes. CONCLUSIONS: Workplace violence and injuries incurred from it are extensive throughout the world. The important causes of violence include the shortage of training programs dealing with violence, lack of violence management protocols, and delays in response times. Therefore, afterthought and resolve are more crucial than ever. Workplace violence reduction strategies and suggestions for future studies are also discussed.