Violence against health professionals and facilities in China: Evidence from criminal litigation records.
OBJECTIVES
This study aims to extend the current understanding of violence against health professionals and facilities in China, with data from an authoritative, national-representative, but under-researched data source - litigation records, and discuss implications for developing violence prevention strategies.


DESIGN
We collected all legal cases relevant to violence against health professionals and facilities from criminal ligation records released by the Supreme Court of China from 2010 to 2016.


MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES
(i) Characteristics of perpetrators: gender, age, education, occupation, history of mental illness and alcohol; (ii) characteristics of victims: medical specialization, location, type of violence; (iii) outcome of treatment.


RESULTS
140 cases were collected for analysis. Beating, pushing, verbal abuse, threatening, burning mock paper money, placing a corpse in the hospital, hanging banners, blocking hospital gates and doors, and smashing hospital property were the most frequently reported types of violence. Specifically following patient deaths, the interval between a patient's death and violence by the patient's families and friends was short, with 51% happening on the same day.


CONCLUSIONS
Our study provides a comprehensive overview of violence against health professionals and facilities in China, which can be used to inform the development of prevention strategies.
['Li|Niying|N|', 'Wang|Zhan|Z|', 'Dear|Keith|K|']
D000293:Adolescent D000328:Adult D017677:Age Distribution D000368:Aged D000435:Alcoholic Intoxication D002681:China D019548:Crime Victims D057237:Criminals D005260:Female D006268:Health Facilities D006282:Health Personnel D006708:Homicide D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008318:Malpractice D001523:Mental Disorders D008875:Middle Aged D017678:Sex Distribution D064450:Workplace Violence D055815:Young Adult
Violence against health professionals Criminal litigation records Health policy Health system reform