"Asking individual health care workers to stop the epidemic of violence is just like asking the lifesavers at the beach to stop the rising sea levels."
That is the viewpoint of a Queensland PHD researcher addressing a 'wicked' and prominent issue of violence against healthcare workers across Australia, with a new study seeking to shine a light on the issue.
In a multi-faceted study undertaken across the country, researchers from James Cook University say commitments from government all the way down to frontline staff will shape the way to reducing incidents against health workers.
In the 2020-2021 period, there were more than 12,000 reported cases of occupational violence across Queensland.
Lead author of the study, Alycia Jacobs, says violence can come in any form and minor incidents can impact the willingness of workers to come forward.
""One problem with conducting this research is healthcare workplace culture and the expectation that 'minor' aggression and violence is a part of the job - which impacts on the willingness of healthcare workers to report violent incidents," she said.
"Despite specific campaigns against violence in healthcare settings such as those in Australia and the UK, we still see generally that rates of violence against healthcare workers have not decreased internationally over the past 35 years.
"The complex nature of violence arising in health-care settings has many of the hallmarks of what academics call a 'wicked' problem.
"Wicked problems cannot be solved using pure science, and require complex, multi-faceted solutions.
While the paper doesn't tailor specific solutions, it illustrates multi-disciplinary approaches to addressing the issue in Australia.
Having witnessed how these incidents affect healthcare workers previously in a legal role, Ms Jacobs got involved with public health to address the multi-layered issue.
And in light of the pandemic highlighting the importance of healthcare staff, the "disconnect between policy and application" should be a focus for government's nation-wide.
"Because healthcare is a complex system it's important to acknowledge the need to consider broader systematic factors, rather than micromanaging individual or group behaviours," Ms Jacobs added.
"This may include moving the responsibility of violence prevention away from individual workers.
"It's really important that we acknowledge that the frontline healthcare staff, it's not necessarily their responsibility to be solving this issue that we need to work with them and support them. Particularly in a time when politically healthcare is a very challenging space to work."
Australian Associated Press
