The Nature of Workplace Violence: Perception of Nurses, Patients and their Relatives about Workplace Violence toward Nurses in Educational Hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, 2013.

Abstract

Abstract: Introduction: Nurses are exposed to various types of workplace violence, they know patients and their relatives as the main perpetrators of violence against them. So, the aim of present study is to investigate the perception of nurses, patients and their relatives about the nature of workplace violence against nurses in Tabriz medical centers. Methods: In the descriptive –comparative study 1200 nurses, patients and relatives of patients who had inclusion criteria were selected by convenience sampling. The data gathering instrument was a modified questionnaire of World Health Organization. The data were analyzed using SPSS software version 21.0. Results: Nurses, patients and relatives of patients reported verbal violence as the most common and sexual violence lowest form of violence towards nurses. All three groups knew patients and patients' relatives most perpetrators of violence against nurses. Nurses considered availability of nurses, lack of motivation and job satisfaction of nurses more important for workplace violence while patients and relatives of patients cited inappropriate behavior of personnel, worries about health, weakness of management and long waiting to receive health services as main factors associated with violence incidence. There was more agreement between the viewpoints of the groups in relation to nurses' responses to violence against them. Conclusion: Findings showed that workplace violence against nurses especially verbal violence form had high prevalence, it seems that maybe by enhancing communication skills of nurses, increase the control over patients' companions, the education of patients and stiff follow up of violence instances the high prevalence of workplace violence against nurses' decreases.