Ward nurses’ encounter with workplace violence : a descriptive survey of nurses’ responses and reported well-being

Abstract

Background: Nurses are described as being the most at risk of encountering workplace violence (WPV) (Hahn et al., 2010). Literature has shown that nurses’ exposure to WPV has accounted for adverse impacts on their well-being (Mroczek et al., 2014; Jakobsson et al., 2020; Vento et al., 2020). Crabbe et al. (2002) illustrated that nurses tend to refrain from reporting WPV, consequently leading to unawareness amongst authorities about the severity of this phenomenon. Gillespie et al. (2010) discussed the importance of identifying risk factors which contribute to WPV, so that these can form the basis upon which strategies to mitigate its occurrence are devised. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of, and response to WPV in local hospital wards, and how WPV from patients and/or relatives, affect nurses’ well-being. The ‘Interactive Model of Workplace Violence’ (Chappell & DiMartino, 1998), and the ‘Theory of Planned Behaviour’ (Ajzen, 1991) were used to guide this research. Methodology: A quantitative, descriptive cross-sectional survey design was employed. Each of the 426 nurses working in adult wards in the local hospital was handed a slightly amended version of the ‘Questionnaire to Evaluate Workplace Violence in Healthcare Settings (Kumari et al., 2021). Data was analysed through SPSS-28. Findings: The response rate was 67% (n=284). The majority of nurses (89%) indicated having experienced one or both forms of WPV. Nurses of a young age, lacking experience and working on a mixed shift type reported higher encounters of WPV. Characteristics of perpetrators and hospital environment were perceived as very important risk factors for WPV amongst nurses. The majority of nurses (58.9%) demonstrated underreporting as a response to WPV. Adverse impacts on nurses’ psychological well-being and feelings towards workplace were found to significantly correlate with WPV. Mitigation strategies which addressed risk factors of WPV were all perceived as very useful by respondents as lessening the occurrence of WPV. Conclusion: Recommendations include the need for greater awareness of WPV by management, nurses and the general public. Policies which assert legislative measures towards public against WPV should be developed and implemented.