earticle

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Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate experiences of violence with patients or family members by paramedics working at emergency rooms. Methods: A questionnaire was administered from June 1 to 31, 2017 to 225 paramedics working at 27 emergency medical centers. The collected data were analyzed with SPSS statistics ver 24.0 program. Results: Within the past year, 208(92.9%) of 224 participants experienced violence among whom 202(90.2%) experienced verbal abuse, 193(86.2%) experienced physical threat, 89(39.7%) experienced physical violence, and 52(23.2%) experienced sexual violence. The level of violence response depending on the overlapping experience of violence type showed significant difference from emotional response (p= .001), social response (p= .001), physical response (p= .004), and overall violence response (p= .001). Conclusion: In conclusion, paramedics are frequently exposed to violence in the emergency rooms, of which they mostly experience verbal abuse. In addition, because the reporting system in the event of violence and the coping process are not well-informed, paramedics are unable to sufficiently utilize the reporting system and programs established within the institution. Therefore, the support of the legal system is needed to create a safe working environment for the medical staff who work in the emergency medical centers.