Background: Workplace violence (WPV) is an important workplace safety issue for the nursing profession. Negative feelings that result from WPV impact upon the health of those nurses subjected to WPV and can compromise the quality of nursing care they subsequently provide. Purposes: Purposes of this study were to: (1) explore the emotional reactions of nurses who had previously encountered WPV; (2) identify significant relationships between the emotional reaction of nurses and WPV; and (3) understand approaches adopted by nurses to cope with and manage their lives after WPV. Method: Eight-hundred and eighty nurses currently responsible to provide direct patient care at a medical center in southern Taiwan were invited to complete a structured questionnaire anonymously. The response rate was 89.9%. Results: Results found that: (1) anger was the most common emotional reaction of subjects to WPV; (2) unmarried nurses who experienced WPV registered emotional reaction scores that were significantly higher than registered by those who were married. Subjects working in medical or surgical wards were more likely to register emotional reaction scores that were significantly higher than registered by those working in the emergency department. The emotional reaction scores of subjects experience WPV only from patients (inclusive of patient families) were significantly lower than those who experienced such from medical colleagues or from both patients and medical colleagues; (3) of the 645 nurses who reported encountering the WPV in this study, the most common coping strategy was to complain to their colleagues (85.7%) followed by complaining to their families (47.7%). Only 8.1% of nurses reported to authorities in writing after experiencing WPV. Conclusion/Application: This study provides information to help hospital and nursing administrators deal with the problem of workplace violence.
Background: Workplace violence (WPV) is an important workplace safety issue for the nursing profession. Negative feelings that result from WPV impact upon the health of those nurses subjected to WPV and can compromise the quality of nursing care they subsequently provide. Purposes: Purposes of this study were to: (1) explore the emotional reactions of nurses who had previously encountered WPV; (2) identify significant relationships between the emotional reaction of nurses and WPV; and (3) understand approaches adopted by nurses to cope with and manage their lives after WPV. Method: Eight-hundred and eighty nurses currently responsible to provide direct patient care at a medical center in southern Taiwan were invited to complete a structured questionnaire anonymously. The response rate was 89.9%. Results: Results found that: (1) anger was the most common emotional reaction of subjects to WPV; (2) unmarried nurses who experienced WPV registered emotional reaction scores that were significantly higher than registered by those who were married. Subjects working in medical or surgical wards were more likely to register emotional reaction scores that were significantly higher than registered by those working in the emergency department. The emotional reaction scores of subjects experience WPV only from patients (inclusive of patient families) were significantly lower than those who experienced such from medical colleagues or from both patients and medical colleagues; (3) of the 645 nurses who reported encountering the WPV in this study, the most common coping strategy was to complain to their colleagues (85.7%) followed by complaining to their families (47.7%). Only 8.1% of nurses reported to authorities in writing after experiencing WPV. Conclusion/Application: This study provides information to help hospital and nursing administrators deal with the problem of workplace violence.