Violence against doctors in Romania -- a National Report

Violence against doctors, while exercising their profession, is not a new topic or one that is specific to a health system; the phenomenon is widespread throughout the world and a series of researchers are seeking to identify the social determinants and those specific to the health system that lead to a severe situation, with the potential to transform it into a genuine social problem. More than 7 years ago, the College of Physicians in Bucharest sounded an alarm in this regard: 85% of doctors in the Romanian capital reported the experience of confronting verbal aggression from patients or relatives, and 10.2% of doctors reported having experienced physical aggression (Bumbea, 2017). The phenomenon is difficult to track and evaluate in dynamics due to inconsistent reporting and the difficulty of identifying figures supported by relevant research. This paper aims to provide an assessment from a national perspective, as part of a national report on physicians' perceptions, bringing a sociological perspective on the issue of violence against physicians, using a series of quantitative data from 2023.