ObjectivesOur aims were to assess the relationship between workplace violence, job satisfaction, burnout, organisational support and turnover intention, and to explore factors associated with turnover intention among nurses in Chinese tertiary hospitals.MethodsThe purposive sampling method was used to collect data from August 2016 through January 2017. A total of 1761 nurses from 9 public tertiary hospitals in 4 provinces (municipalities) located in eastern (Beijing), central (Heilongjiang, Anhui) and western (Shaanxi) regions of China completed the questionnaires (effective response rate=85.20%). A cross-sectional study was conducted using the Workplace Violence Scale, Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey, Minnesota Job Satisfaction Questionnaire Revised Short Version, Perceived Organizational Support-Simplified Version Scale and Turnover Intention Scale.ResultsA total of 1216 of 1706 (69.1%) participants had high turnover intention. During the previous 12 months, the prevalence of physical violence and psychological violence towards nurses was 9.60% and 59.64%, respectively. As expected, the level of turnover intention was negatively correlated with participants’ scores on job satisfaction (r=−0.367, p<0.001) and perceived organisational support (r=−0.379, p<0.001), respectively. Burnout was positively associated with turnover intention (r=0.444, p<0.001). Workplace violence was positively associated with turnover intention (β=0.035, p<0.001) in linear regression analysis. The total effect (β=0.53) of workplace violence on turnover intention comprised its direct effect (β=0.36) and its indirect effect (β=0.17).ConclusionsPerceived organisational support served as a mediator between workplace violence, job satisfaction, burnout and turnover intention, and it had a significantly negative impact on turnover intention. Therefore, nursing managers should understand the importance of the organisation’s support and establish a reasonable incentive system to decrease turnover intention.

BackgroundWorkplace violence (WPV) against healthcare workers is known as violence in healthcare settings and referring to the violent acts that are directed towards doctors, nurses or other healthcare staff at work or on duty. Moreover, WPV can cause a large number of adverse outcomes. However, there is not enough evidence to test the link between exposure to WPV against doctors, psychological stress, sleep quality and health status in China.ObjectivesThis study had three objectives: (1) to identify the incidence rate of WPV against doctors under a new classification, (2) to examine the association between exposure to WPV, psychological stress, sleep quality and subjective health of Chinese doctors and (3) to verify the partial mediating role of psychological stress.DesignA cross-sectional online survey study.SettingThe survey was conducted among 1740 doctors in tertiary hospitals, 733 in secondary hospital and 139 in primary hospital across 30 provinces of China.ParticipantsA total of 3016 participants were invited. Ultimately, 2617 doctors completed valid questionnaires. The effective response rate was 86.8%.ResultsThe results demonstrated that the prevalence rate of exposure to verbal abuse was the highest (76.2%), made difficulties (58.3%), smear reputation (40.8%), mobbing behaviour (40.2%), intimidation behaviour (27.6%), physical violence (24.1%) and sexual harassment (7.8%). Exposure to WPV significantly affected the psychological stress, sleep quality and self-reported health of doctors. Moreover, psychological stress partially mediated the relationship between work-related violence and health damage.ConclusionIn China, most doctors have encountered various WPV from patients and their relatives. The prevalence of three new types of WPV have been investigated in our study, which have been rarely mentioned in past research. A safer work environment for Chinese healthcare workers needs to be provided to minimise health threats, which is a top priority for both government and society.

ObjectivesThe purpose of the present study was to explore the characteristics of workplace violence that Chinese nurses at tertiary and county–level hospitals encountered in the 12 months from December 2014 to January 2016, to identify and analyse risk factors for workplace violence, and to establish the basis for future preventive strategies.DesignA cross–sectional study.SettingA total of 44 tertiary hospitals and 90 county–level hospitals in 16 provinces (municipalities or autonomous regions) in China.MethodsWe used stratified random sampling to collect data from December 2014 to January 2016. We distributed 21 360 questionnaires, and 15 970 participants provided valid data (effective response rate=74.77%). We conducted binary logistic regression analyses on the risk factors for workplace violence among the nurses in our sample and analysed the reasons for aggression.ResultsThe prevalence of workplace violence was 65.8%; of this, 64.9% was verbal violence, and physical violence and sexual harassment accounted for 11.8% and 3.9%, respectively. Frequent workplace violence occurred primarily in emergency and paediatric departments. Respondents reported that patients’ relatives were the main perpetrators in tertiary and county–level hospitals. Logistic regression analysis showed that respondents’ age, department, years of experience and direct contact with patients were common risk factors at different levels of hospitals.ConclusionsWorkplace violence is frequent in China’s tertiary and county–level hospitals; its occurrence is especially frequent in the emergency and paediatric departments. It is necessary to cope with workplace violence by developing effective control strategies at individual, hospital and national levels.

These findings suggest that higher psychological capital increases the self-reported job embeddedness and performance of these nurses.

Workplace violence and its negative impact on nursing work should not go unnoticed by nursing managers. Nurses' subjective well-being is critical in controlling and mitigating the adverse effects of workplace violence.