Verbal and Physical Abuse Against Nurses Working in Hospitals and Health Centers in Buraidah, Saudi Arabia

Verbal violence and missed nursing care: A phenomenological study

AIM

To define the missed care experiences of nurses exposed to verbal violence from patients.

BACKGROUND

Verbal violence takes the first place among the types of violence that nurses face in healthcare settings. This can cause negative emotional and physical responses in nurses and issues in patient and nurse interaction. As a result, it may lead to missed nursing care, defined as skipped, postponed or incomplete care during the patient's care.

METHODS

This is a phenomenological study. The study sample included 16 nurses working in inpatient clinics who reported experiencing verbal violence at least once in Turkey. The study was conducted between January and February 2022 with institutional permission and ethics committee approval (09/12/2021-2021/357). A semi-structured interview method was used to collect data. The information gathered from the interviews underwent thematic analysis using an inductive approach. The 'Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ)' was used to report this qualitative study based on a comprehensive protocol.

RESULTS

The types of verbal violence most frequently faced by nurses were determined as swearing, insulting, shouting and threats. Study findings were classified into three main themes: (i) response to verbal violence, (ii) missed nursing care experiences and (iii) suggestions to cope with verbal violence. The most felt emotions in the face of verbal violence were feeling sad, unsafe and worthless. Nurses common behaviours, in response to verbal abuse were ignoring, getting used to, and wishing to get away. The examples of missed care included using non-therapeutic communication, postponing care or withdrawing from care.

CONCLUSION

Verbal violence caused negative emotional and behavioural responses in nurses, which, in turn, negatively affected the nurse-patient interaction. These findings mean that verbal violence may pave the way for missed nursing care.

IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING POLICY

According to these findings, an uninterrupted nursing care process needs to focus on preventive measures against verbal violence and increase the administrative and legal support offered to nurses.

Violence against healthcare workers in the emergency departments of Al-Madinah hospitals, Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND

Workplace violence (WPV) directed against healthcare workers (HCWs) in healthcare facilities has always been neglected. These occupational hazards have been investigated in recent times and received greater attention from decision-makers. This study aimed to assess the WPV committed against HCWs in the emergency departments (EDs).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

All the emergency department (ED) healthcare workers (HCW) in the hospitals of Al-Madinah Province, Saudi Arabia, were invited to participate in this cross-sectional study by completing an online questionnaire during May 15 to August 15, 2020. Information sought included characteristics of the participant and workplace, violence, the participants' responses and emotions, the consequences of the WPV incident, and the level of satisfaction with the management of the WPV incident. Data was analyzed using SPSS; Chi-square test was used to assess the association between WPV and various participant and workplace characteristics. Binary logistic regression analysis performed to identify independent predictors of work place violence.

RESULTS

A total of 250 HCW filled the questionnaire. One-third of the participants were victims of at least one violent event, mostly nonphysical. The perpetrators were primarily the patient's companions, and a heavy workload/understaffing or an overcrowded environment was the main cause of the violence. The most frequent reaction was to call the hospital security. The emotions the participants experienced were disappointment, low self-esteem, and sadness. Most victims did not report the WPV incident because they believed that reporting was useless, insignificant, or they were fearful of adverse consequences.

CONCLUSION

The rate of violence in EDs in Al-Madinah hospitals was lower than expected, and only 33.3% of HCWs had experienced a violent incident in the last year. However, there is a substantial margin for interventions to improve the situation and protect the HCWs in the EDs.