A model for the prevention of work-place violence towards public service emergency care providers in Gauteng province

Abstract

Background Workplace violence is an alarming world-wide phenomenon that also affects healthcare providers. However, among healthcare providers, Prehospital Emergency Care Providers (PECPs) are particularly at risk of workplace violence as they provide direct patient care in often hostile and undefined public areas whilst interacting with the patient, their family members and bystanders. Gauteng Province is South Africa’s economic hub and the most populous province. In Gauteng Province, workplace violence towards public service PECPs persists, producing a negative impact on the effectiveness of the public healthcare system, despite the measures that have been put in place. Aim The aim of this study was to develop a model to prevent of workplace violence against public service PECPs in Gauteng Province. Methodology The study was conducted using a non-experimental, cross sectional and mixed methods design guided by a social constructivism/ interpretivism paradigm with an interpretative framework founded on pragmatism. Overall, 413 questionnaires were administered in the quantitative subphase. The qualitative subphase the study included seven (7) face to face semi-structured interviews from the management cohort and focus group discussions comprised of 35 PECPs. Parallel mixed methods analysis was used to analyze the data. Findings The findings of this study revealed that even with the current preventative measures in place, there is a high incidence of workplace violence towards public sector emergency care providers within low and middle income communities of Gauteng who rely on state funded healthcare. The risk factors to workplace violence included service delivery frustrations and protests, high crime rates, a lack of reliable backup and emergency care providers being perceived as easy targets. Workplace violence results in a lack of job satisfaction and a poor perception of workplace safety culture amongst PECPs and a decreased quality of and limited access to emergency medical care amongst the low and middle income communities in Gauteng. The findings and meta-inferences generated by the mixed results informed the development of a proposed model for the prevention of workplace violence towards public service PECPs in Gauteng Province.