{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,10,14]],"date-time":"2026-10-14T16:06:17Z","timestamp":1791993977859,"version":"4.4.0"},"reference-count":23,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1748908800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Objectives<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study aimed to explore healthcare providers\u2019 experiences with workplace violence cases before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and to identify the prevalence of risk factors.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title><jats:p>A cross-sectional study design was conducted among healthcare professionals from six hospitals in Moldova during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study included 189 medical professionals and clinical support staff.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>This study surveyed 189 healthcare professionals, mostly aged 40\u201349 (31.7%), with physicians (43.9%) and nurses (42.3%) being predominant. Departments most represented were infectious disease (28.3%), emergency (21.4%), and intensive care (16.1%). Violence prevention training was lacking (83.6%). Hallways (38.5%) and poorly visible areas (34.3%) were leading environmental risk factors. Workplace violence affected 43.1% of participants. Physical assault and verbal threats have a strong correlation before and during the pandemic (<jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.654; <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.714), but changes were not statistically significant. Female staff had lower odds of experiencing serious violence (OR\u202f=\u202f0.43, <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\u202f=\u202f0.013). Workers with 11+ years\u2019 experience faced fewer incidents, while those with 2\u20135\u202fyears faced a higher risk.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Workplace violence remained prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, with statistically significant variation over time, pointing the need for ongoing prevention efforts.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2025.1560096","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]],"date-time":"2025-06-03T05:23:33Z","timestamp":1748928213000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":2,"title":["Workplace violence against healthcare workers in the Republic of Moldova during COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Elena","family":"Ciobanu","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Dumitru","family":"Cheptea","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Svetlana","family":"Cociu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Patricia Maria","family":"Marga","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Serghei","family":"Cebanu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Diana","family":"Dulf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Corinne","family":"Peek-Asa","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,6,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"263","DOI":"10.2147\/PRBM.S114870","article-title":"Workplace violence in different settings and among various health professionals in an Italian general hospital: a cross-sectional study","volume":"9","author":"Ferri","year":"2016","journal-title":"Psychol Res Behav 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magnitude","volume":"26","author":"Curteanu","year":"2021","journal-title":"Moldovan J Health Sci"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"10","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2022.938423","article-title":"The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the prevalence and risk factors of workplace violence among healthcare workers in China","volume":"10","author":"Qi","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3390\/bs12040106","article-title":"Workplace violence among healthcare providers during the COVID-19 health emergency: a cross-sectional study","volume":"12","author":"Alfuqaha","year":"2022","journal-title":"Behav Sci"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"179","DOI":"10.31688\/ABMU.2021.56.2.06","article-title":"Assessment of burnout among teachers during the COVID-19 pandemic","volume":"56","author":"Cheptea","year":"2021","journal-title":"Arch Balk Med 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