Healthcare

Biography

Biography: Li-Ya Lin

Abstract

This study explored the common concerns or worries about the potential risk of occupational exposure in emergency department (ED) workplaces in Taiwan. Issues of workplace violence (WPV) from patients or their family members and job stress were the top priority. In general, the concern about WPV can be attributed to the disadvantages of the physical environment design in EDs and dissatisfaction with the existing arrangements for prevention and management of WPV. The empirical findings in this study provide additional evidence with respect to further improvement of workplace interventions, including policy making, equipment and training provision, and environmental modifications, to minimize the risk of ED violence for health care workers (HCWs). Regarding job stress, workplace issues-including unreasonable expectations from the public, patients’ prolonged stays in EDs, and medical malpractice suits and disputes-were common causes of worry, nervousness or stress for HCWs. In addition, self-reported mental health–related problems among HCWs had significant associations with certain workplace stressors, including unreasonable expectations, shift work and excessive workloads. The evidence from this study suggested the importance of addressing job stress in improving occupational health among HCWs in EDs. However, current strategies for reducing stress among HCWs in Taiwanese EDs are predominantly worker-focused interventions, rather than organisational interventions to address the sources of stress and provide support for effective stress management by HCWs. The findings contribute substantially to understand the most common concerns about WPV and job stress in Taiwanese EDs, and have important implications for developing integrative strategies to address the multiple determinants of these workplace concerns.