Background: Violence is one of the growing problems that healthcare workers are facing. Healthcare workers are the most vulnerable segment of society and are at high risk in terms of facing violence.

Objectives: The current study aims to find out the frequency of violence among healthcare professionals and the factors that lead to violence.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out in various Balochistan hospitals. Participants included healthcare professionals from the public and private sectors who work at the primary and tertiary levels of care. A standardized questionnaire that had previously been used in Pakistan was utilized to measure violence, which was defined as any type of violence experienced or witnessed over the previous 12 months. Using SPSS version 25, data input and analysis were carried out.

Results: 70% of respondents said they have witnessed violence and 16% of respondents experienced violence. The majority of healthcare workers who had witnessed or experienced violence were the paramedical staff. The most frequent form of violence was verbal was 89% followed by physical violence at 8%. Major reasons for violence were human error, communication failure, unreasonable expectations and faculty fault. And 70% of violence cases happened in the emergency department.

Conclusions: Violence against medical staff is a severe public health concern, it is very common and increasing alarmingly. All parties involved, including the healthcare community, the administration, parliamentarians, law enforcement, civil society, and international organizations, must make a concerted effort to tackle this growing problem.

Keywords: Violence, Healthcare, Healthcare professionals, Staff, Workers