When hate meets Hippocratic Oath : understanding violence against healthcare professionals in China, in a hate crime perspective

Abstract

Violence against healthcare professional has become a serious social problem in Chinese society. Much of the attention has been focused on the social or individual explanation of this behavior and how to build a harmony “doctor-patient” relationship. However, hate and bias factors are seldom mentioned in related articles due to the lack of such research under the Chinese context. This research focuses on violence against healthcare professionals based on the perspective of hate and bias-motivated crime. Based on four semi-structured interviews with healthcare professionals in China, this research first identifies the violence against healthcare professionals in China as a bias-motivated behavior. By applying the hate crime perspective, this research then analyzes the individual and collective explanation, and victimization of this bias-motivated violence. This research finally provides an overview of the current intervention and future suggestion on the violence