Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-22T19:48:53.912Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Violence at the workplace—a questionnaire survey of nurses

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

Dorota Merecz ,
Joanna Rymaszewska ,
Agnieszka Mościcka ,
Andrzej Kiejna  and
Joanna Jarosz-Nowak
Dorota Merecz
Affiliation:
Department of Work Psychology, The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
Joanna Rymaszewska*
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Postgraduate Medical Training, Wroclaw Medical University, Ul. Pasteura 10, 50-367Wroclaw, Poland
Agnieszka Mościcka
Affiliation:
Department of Work Psychology, The Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine, Lodz, Poland
Andrzej Kiejna
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Postgraduate Medical Training, Wroclaw Medical University, Ul. Pasteura 10, 50-367Wroclaw, Poland
Joanna Jarosz-Nowak
Affiliation:
Institute of Mathematics, Wroclaw University of Technology, Wroclaw, Poland
*
*Corresponding author. Tel.: +48 71 784 1600. E-mail address: [email protected] (J. Rymaszewska).
Get access

Abstract

Background

– In the health sector, anywhere in the world nurses are one of the most exposed groups to violence. However, it is not obvious that psychiatric nurses (PNs) are more exposed to aggression and burnout.

Objectives

– To determine the nature and effects of aggressive acts towards nursing staff in psychiatric and other medical services in Poland.

Methods

– Various questionnaires (Stress at Work Scale, General Health Questionnaire, Maslach Burnout Inventory, Work Satisfaction Scale), were distributed among psychiatric (N = 78) and non-psychiatric nurses (N-PNs) (N = 335). A 92.6% response rate was achieved.

Results

– Significant differences were found between PNs and non-psychiatric counterparts with respect to their experiences of violence. The most frequently reported incident was verbal abuse, followed by threats and physical assault. Patients were significantly more frequent perpetrators in psychiatric wards than in others. The level of intra-staff aggression did not significantly vary between groups, neither did the level of work satisfaction and absenteeism.

Conclusion

– The frequency of violent acts and stress related to them point out the strong need for the development of preventive programs to address the issue of violence at work.

Keywords

ViolenceWorkplaceNursesBurnout
Type
Original article
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 21 , Issue 7 , October 2006 , pp. 442 - 450
Copyright
Copyright © Elsevier SAS 2006

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Arnetz, J.E., Arnetz, B.B., Petterson, I.L.Violence in the nursing profession: occupational and lifestyle risk factors in Swedish nurses Work Stress 1996; 2:119–127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ball, J., Pike, G.Bullying, harassment and assault: preliminary findings from the RCN Working Well 2000 Survey London: Royal College of Nursing; 2001.Google Scholar
Budd, T.Violence at work: new findings from the 2000 British Crime Survey. Home Office Occasional Paper London: Home Office, UK: Government; 2001.Google Scholar
Bureau of Labour Statistics. National census of fatal occupational injuries in 2000 Washington, DC: US Department of Labour; 2001.Google Scholar
Di Martino, V.Relationship of work stress and workplace violence in the health sector. Joint Programme on Workplace Violence in the Health Sector Geneva: ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI; 2002.Google Scholar
Di Martino, V., Hoel, H., Cooper, C.L.Preventing violence and harassment in the workplace Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; 2003.Google Scholar
Farrell, G.A.Aggression in clinical settings: nurses' views J. Adv. Nurs. 1997; 25:501–508.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Farrell, G.A.Aggression in clinical settings: nurses’ views—a follow-up study J. Adv. Nurs. 1999; 29:532–541.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldberg, D., Williams, P.A user guide to the general health questionnaire. Windsor: NFER-NELSON Publishing Company Ltd.; 1991.Google Scholar
Gournay, K.The recognition, prevention and therapeutic management of violence in mental health care London: Health Service Department, University College London; 2001.Google Scholar
Graydon, J., Kasta, W., Khan, P.Verbal and physical abuse of nurses Can. J. Nurs. Adm. 1994; 4:70–89.Google Scholar
Holden, R.J.Aggression against nurses Aust. Nurses J. 1985; 3:44–48.Google Scholar
International Labour Organization. Violence on the job—a global problem Geneva: ILO; 1998.Google Scholar
Kivimaki, K., Elovainio, M., Vathera, J.Workplace bullying and sickness absence in hospital staff Occup. Environ. Med. 2000; 57:656–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Makowska, Z, Merecz, D. Ocena zdrowia psychicznego na podstawie badań kwestionariuszami Dawida Goldberga. [Assessment of mental health based on David Goldberg questionnaires]. Łódź: Instytut Medycyny Pracy; 2001.Google Scholar
Mayhew, C., Chappell, D.Occupational violence: types, reporting patterns and variations between health sectors. Working Paper Series no. 139, Discussion Paper no. 1. Taskforce on Prevention and Management of Violence in the Health Workplace Sydney: NSW Department of Health; 2001.Google Scholar
Mayhew, C., Chappell, D.‘Internal violence (or bulling) and the health workforce.’ Discussion Paper 3 Sydney: University of New South Wales; 2001.Google Scholar
Merecz, D., Makowska, Z.The impact of personality and work perception on wellbeing. Comparison analysis of the influence of these factors in women and men. Lehtinen, S., Taskinen, H., Rantanen, J.People and work. Research reports 20 Finnish Institute of Occupational Health: Helsinki; 1998. 158–164.Google Scholar
Merllié, D., Paoli, P.Ten years of working conditions in the European Union Dublin: European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions; 2001.Google Scholar
National Audit Office. A safer place to work: protecting NHS Hospital and Ambulance Staff from violence and aggression London: NAO; 2003.Google Scholar
Nolan, P., Soares, J., Dallander, J., Thompson, S., Arnetz, B.A comparative study of the experiences of violence of English and Swedish mental health nurses’ Int. J. Nurs. Stud. 2001; 38:419–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nowicka, M., Kolasa, W.[Being faced with an aggressive client—psychological consequences for employees] W obliczu agresywnego petenta—konsekwencje psychologiczne dla pracowników Med. Pr. 2001; 1:1–5.Google Scholar
O’Connell, B., Young, J., Brooks, J., Hutchings, J., Lofthouse, J.Nurses’ perceptions of the nature and frequency of aggression in general ward settings and high dependency areas J. Clin. Nurs. 2000; 4:602–610.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, C., Tarantello, C., Jones, M., Tennant, C.Violence and aggression in psychiatric units Psychiatr. Serv. 1998; 11:1452–1457.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pasikowski, T. Polska adaptacja kwestionariusza Maslach Burnout Inventory. [Polish adaptation of the Maslach Burnout Inventory] In: Sęk H, ed. Wypalenie Zawodowe. Przyczyny, mechanizmy, zapobieganie. [Burnout at work. Reasons, mechanisms, prevention.] Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN; 2000.Google Scholar
Perrone, S.Violence in the workplace. Research and Public Policy series no. 22 Canberra: Australian Institute of Criminology; 1999.Google Scholar
Quine, L.Workplace bullying in NHS community trust: staff questionnaire survey BMJ 1999; 318:228–232.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Richards, J.Management of workplace violence victims Geneva: ILO/ICN/WHO/PSI; 2003.Google Scholar
Scott, H.Violence against nurses and NHS staff is on the increase Br. J. Nurs. 2003; 7:396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warchol, G.Workplace violence, 1992–96: Bureau of Justice Statistics Special Report. Pub NCJ 168634 Washington, DC: US Department of Justice; 1998.Google Scholar
Whittington, R.Attitudes toward patient aggression amongst mental health nurses in the ‘zero tolerance’ era: associations with burnout and length of experience J. Clin. Nurs. 2002; 6:819–825.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woronowicz, B.Wypadki przy pracy spowodowane agresywnymi zachowaniami pacjentów szpitali psychiatrycznych Pol. Tyg. Lek. 1986; 10:305–309.Google Scholar
Wynne, R., Clarkin, N., Cox, T., Griffiths, A.Guidance on the prevention of violence at work Brussels: European Commission; 1997.Google Scholar
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.