Workplace violence against healthcare professionals: A systematic review

Workplace violence is defined as an aggression when staff members are abused, intimidated or attacked in circumstances related to their work, including commuting to and from work, involving an explicit or implicit challenge to their safety, well-being or health. Violence against healthcare professionals is frequent, and constitutes a source of concern in the health system. Scientific literature highlights negative behavioral, emotional, cognitive and physical outcomes. The aim of this review is to examine the impact that exposure to workplace violence against healthcare professionals can produce, to improve healthcare professionals' knowledge about the consequences of workplace violence, and to guide future research in identifying strategies that could effectively reduce the incidence of workplace violence.