AccScience Publishing / GHES / Online First / DOI: 10.36922/ghes.2015
ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE

Violence against health-care workers in emergency departments: A study in Fez, Morocco

Mohammed Kharbouchi1* Mestapha El Azzouzi1 Majda Bouchafra1 Khadija Anouar1 Salah-Eddine Maatouk1
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1 Department of Law/Laboratory: Private Law and Development Challenges, Faculty of Legal, Economic, and Social Sciences, University of Sidi Mohamed Ben Abdellah, Fez, Morocco
Submitted: 11 October 2023 | Accepted: 15 March 2024 | Published: 28 May 2024
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Occupational Stress and Social Epidemiology)
© 2024 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
Abstract

The issue of violence against health-care workers (HCWs) has garnered significant attention, necessitating urgent resolution due to escalating conflicts between HCWs and patients or their companions. Addressing this matter is paramount to mitigate its impact on HCWs and improve the quality of care afforded to citizens. To identify the underlying causes, particularly within emergency departments, we conducted a survey involving over 75 doctors and nurses across various hospitals to collect pertinent data. Our findings indicate that the health system is the major cause of violence, alongside the awareness of human rights fostered by social media. Furthermore, we conducted an interview with a doctor who has extensive experience working in emergency departments. Through this interview, he elucidated the extent to which this department poses dangers and the substandard conditions prevalent in the workplace. This study attempts to contribute scientifically toward finding efficient solutions, including legal measures, civil society initiatives, and police involvement. It suggests that reforms may be necessary in the functioning of these departments. This aspect represents an unsolved issue warranting further exploration.

Keywords
Health-care workers
Violence
Emergency departments
Patients
Social media
Awareness
Health system
Law
Funding
None.
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no conflict of interest in this article.
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Global Health Economics and Sustainability, Electronic ISSN: 2972-4570 Published by AccScience Publishing