The prevalence and risk factors of workplace violence at a psychiatric hospital in the Gambia

Purpose – The study was aimed at providing a comprehensive report of workplace violence (WPV) situation at the Tanka Tanka Psychiatric Hospital (TTPH) in the Gambia.Design / methodology / approach – A cross-sectional study was conducted on 54 staff at TTPH and 6 senior managers of mental health treatment in the Gambia through self-administered questionnaires and an in-depth interview respectively. A descriptive statistical approach was applied to determine the prevalence and logistic regression approach to identify factors associated with violence at the hospital. Data from the in-depth interview on WPV policies in the Gambia was analyzed thematically. Results – Majority in the 12 months before the research, 55.6% of respondents had been exposed to violence; of those, 46.3%, 27.8%, and 5.6% had experienced verbal abuse, physical assault, and sexual harassment respectively. Inadequate staff, insufficient security measures, and insufficient medications were perceived by respondents as being the causes of the violence. Level of professionalism, the kind of services provided by staff, and shift of work were, however, discovered to be strongly connected with violence. As a result of the WPV, victims had injuries, post-traumatic stress disorder signs/symptoms, and work dissatisfaction. The interviewee also expressed concern about the lack of WPV polices and the necessity to create one as soon as possible.Value – According to the research, there is an elevated risk of violence among the TTPH staff. As a result, the hospital's structure needs to be changed, staff members should receive training on how to deal with an aggressive patient, and a constructive WPV policy should be created.