Violence against physicians: A historical examination and management implications for Turkish healthcare system

This study analyzes the historical trajectory of workplace violence against physicians in the Turkish healthcare system, using mixed-methods content analysis of newspaper archives from 1998 to 2023. The analysis covers 286 incidents from 16,440 pages, exploring violence frequency, settings, victim and perpetrator characteristics, and underlying social and systemic factors. The findings emphasize critical management implications, including safety and security inadequacies, the impact of healthcare policy shortcomings, gender disparities in violence experiences, and interpersonal dynamics within healthcare organizations. Also, the paper provides empirical and theoretical insights, challenging existing paradigms of workplace safety management and proposing targeted interventions, including leadership-driven cultural shifts, institutional policy reforms, enhanced communication training, and integrated security strategies to ensure safe and effective healthcare delivery.