Response to Healthcare Workers' Workplace Violence in Colombia

I am grateful for the opportunity to consider the contribution from Giraldo and colleagues describing workplace violence exposure in Colombia. I appreciate the connection between our work in California and the international context, and from Latin America in particular. I was particularly struck by the authors' description of the structural conditions that impact workplace violence exposure among healthcare workers across Latin America. In healthcare, too often patient and provider experiences are seen in isolation. In fact, system-level deficiencies harm both those receiving and delivering care. Research has demonstrated that one contributor to the widespread moral injury reported among healthcare workers is that of being positioned as the face of a broken system, a role that asks them to defend or justify inadequate support to sick patients and their families. Moreover, those providers who act as the first point of contact with frustrated patients provide the most accessible channel for expression. The greatest potential for improvement will likely involve linking providers and patients in common goals to force system-level changes. Hopefully research can draw out the common links between diverse settings and improve our collective capacity to keep workers safe on the job.