Violência contra os trabalhadores da saúde no local de trabalho na cidade de Lichinga, província de Niassa, Moçambique entre março e maio de 2019

Introduction: Recognition of the relevance of violence against health workers in their in the workplace has been growing in the world. In Mozambique workplace violence in the health sector needs better documentation. Therefore, this study had as its main objective to assess violence against health workers in the workplace in Lichinga Northern Province of Mozambique. Material and methods: This is an observational, descriptive, cross- -sectional study. Data collection took place from March to May 2019, involving 140 health professionals, 120 from Lichinga Provincial Hospital and 20 from the Health Center of the City of Lichinga, in the Province of Niassa. The questionnaire applied was adapted from the original developed by the International Labor Organization, the International Nurses Council, the World Health Organization and Public Services International. Data were entered into a database in SPSS 20.0. The statistical analysis was mostly descriptive: absolute and relative frequencies, means and standard deviations. Results: This study confirms: the high prevalence of violence; a typology of physical violence, verbal threat/aggression, moral pressure, sexual violence or harassment and discrimination, similar to that observed in other countries and in 2003 in Maputo; a profile of aggressors consisting more often of companions of patients / users or colleagues of the institution, although with less emphasis on aggression by patients / users; a perception that violence is accepted passively; that health workers do not know the procedures for handling complaints; that health workers are generally concerned about the risk of violence in their workplace and dissatisfied with the way the institution responds to these complaints; and that violence is perceived by health workers as being preventable. Conclusion: This study documents a high prevalence of different types of violence against health workers. There is a need for interventions to prevent incidents of violence against workers in the workplace.