Table 2. Prevalence (%) and characteristics of physical violence in township hospitals of Heilongjiang province, and consequences for the perpetrators.

	n	%
Exposure to physically violent incidents in the last 12 months
Yes	106	12.6
No	734	87.4
Perpetrators
Patient	24	22.6
Relatives of patient	66	62.3
General public	16	15.1
Gender of the perpetrators
Male	94	88.7
Female	12	11.3
Age of the perpetrators
<20	16	15.1
20–40	78	73.6
40–60	12	11.3
Attack time
After drinking	20	18.9
After patient took medicine	28	26.4
When patient suffered disease progression	58	54.7
Attack tool
Knives and sticks prepared in advance	36	34.0
Furniture in the ward, such as tables and chairs	30	28.3
No	40	37.7
Consequences for the perpetrators
None	54	50.9
Verbal warning issued by hospital managers	28	26.4
Care discontinued	0	0
Reported to police	24	22.7
Aggressor prosecuted	0	0