Organizational response to workplace violence, and its association with depressive symptoms: A nationwide survey of 1966 Korean EMS providers

Objectives: This study investigated whether organizational responses modified the associations between experiencing violence and depressive symptoms among emergency workers. Methods: A nationwide survey of 1966 Korean emergency medical service (EMS) providers was analyzed. Experience of workplace violence (ie, physical violence, verbal abuse) was classified into four groups based on the victims' reporting and organizational responses: (i) "Not experienced," (ii) "Experienced, not reported," (iii) "Experienced, reported, responded by organization,"and (iv) "Experienced, reported, not responded by organization." Depressive symptoms were assessed by 11-item version of the Centers for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results: Compared to "Not experienced" group, physical violence was significantly associated with depressive symptoms among EMS providers responding "Experienced, not reported" (PR: 1.67, 95% CI: 1.37, 2.03) and "Experienced, reported, not responded by organization" (PR: 2.58, 95% CI: 1.75, 3.82), after adjusting for confounders. No significant difference was detected for workers responding "Experienced, reported, responded by organization" group (PR: 1.45, 95% CI: 0.87, 2.41). Similar trends were observed in the analysis with verbal abuse. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that organizational responses could play a critical role in mitigating depressive symptoms among EMS providers who experience violence at work.