Introduction: Workplace violence (WPV) against healthcare workers is a pervasive occupational hazard that undermines workforce well-being, quality of care, and health system resilience. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified pre-existing risk factors, although evidence on temporal trends across pandemic phases remains inconsistent and fragmented.
Aim: The aim of this article is to synthesise and map global evidence on the prevalence, forms, risk factors, and contextual determinants of WPV against healthcare workers during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare temporal and regional trends across pandemic and post-pandemic periods.
Materials and Methods: A scoping review was conducted following the Arksey and O'Malley framework, as refined by the Joanna Briggs Institute. Reporting adhered to the PRISMA-ScR. Searches were performed in PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science (from 2020 onwards), and were supplemented with Google Scholar and citation chaining. From 196 screened records, 39 studies were included.
Results: Workplace violence prevalence ranged from approximately 30% to 93% across studies, with frequent escalation during acute pandemic phases. Verbal aggression was the predominant form of WPV in all settings. Nurses and emergency department staff were the most vulnerable groups. Marked geographic disparities were observed, with Latin America, South Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa reporting the highest rates. Multi-level interventions combining training, reporting systems, and psychological support were associated with measurable reductions in WPV.
Conclusion: Workplace violence in healthcare is a critical public health issue that was exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Effective long-term mitigation requires coordinated policy interventions, standardised reporting, and sustained multi-stakeholder action.
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