ABSTRACT
Several employers are actively working towards creating healthy and safe workplaces, now that a relationship has been established between patient outcomes and the health of the workforce (Shamian and El-Jardali 2007). As much as possible, safe work environments must be free from violence. Unfortunately, violence in the health sector is omnipresent and often subtle. It has been described as complex problem “rooted in social, economic, organizational and cultural factors” (International Labour Office [ILO], International Council of Nurses [ICN], World Health Organisation [WHO], Public Services International [PSI] 2002: 9). Workplace violence in the context of health care is of mounting importance because there has been an escalation in the frequency and numbers of health care professionals reporting such incidents. However, there is a common belief that the very nature of the work performed by health care professionals places them at risk of experiencing workplace violence (Ferns and Chojnacka 2005, Henry and Ginn 2002, Erickson and Williams-Evans 2000). Statement such as this often implicates patients as the main perpetrators of violence.
