Workplace violence among hospital nurses and the role of Health Promotion Hospital Efforts: A large-scale nurse study in Taiwan

• Main Authors: Ching-Yao Wei, 魏菁瑤
• Other Authors: Nicole Huang
• Format: Others
• Language: en_US
• Published: 2014
• Online Access: http://ndltd.ncl.edu.tw/handle/xquxqh

碩士 === 國立陽明大學 === 醫務管理研究所 === 102 === Objective：This study aimed to determine the prevalence of workplace violence, and extend the research scope to further explore the role of organizational characteristics and health promotion efforts of hospitals in reducing hospital violence. Methods：This study was a cross-sectional study. The data was from a nationwide hospital survey, Physical and Mental Health and Safety Needs in Health Care Full-Time Staff, which was conducted by Bureau of Health Promotion in 2011. The final sample in our study comprised responses from 31,711 nurses. Result：Of the 31,711 nurses, 15,192 (47.9%) experienced at least one incidence of violence in the past year. 5,603 nurses (17.7%) were exposed to physical violence and 14,204 nurses (44.8%) were exposed to non-physical violence. The prevalence of experiencing any violence varied widely and ranged from the highest (55.5%) in emergency room /intensive care unit to the lowest (24.9%) in 55-65years. After adjusting for other characteristics, younger nurses were significantly more likely to be exposed to any violence threat. Nurses working in public hospitals had a significantly higher risk of workplace violence than those working in private hospitals. Significant variations were also observed among work units. More importantly, although nurses working in a certified HPH did not have a lower risk of workplace violence, those working in an outstanding HPH did have a significantly lower risk of workplace violence. A similar pattern was observed for non-physical violence. Conclusion：The hospital nursing shortage has become a serious challenge to Taiwan’s health care systems. Workplace violence is a major threat to this emerging challenge. Due to resources constraints, technological changes and social changes, nurse-patient relationship has become more complicated and strained. This may lead to a higher prevalence of hospital violence. This nation-wide nurse survey helps us to better understand the scope of the hospital violence issue facing nurses, and identify important risk factors. Most importantly, the findings not only identify the hot spots of hospital violence in hospitals, but also suggest that hospital's extensive investments or efforts in health promotions matter. These hospital promoting efforts are not only beneficial to patients, but also to occupational health of health professionals.