Experience of Verbal Abuse, Emotional Response, and Ways to Deal with Verbal Abuse against Nurses in Hospital

Abstract

This study tries to identify experience of verbal abuse, emotional response, and ways to deal with verbal abuse against nurses in hospitals. Methods: This study was a descriptive research and conducted from April to July 2011. One hundred and seventeen nurses with over one-year experience in general wards were selected and evaluated. The data were analyzed using descriptive analysis, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA. Results: The nurses' experience rate of verbal abuse during the entire period of work in hospitals was 98.3%. The majority of the nurses were verbally abused by patients (70.9%), followed by patients' relatives (65.8%), physicians (61.5%), and coworkers (58.1%). Overall negative emotional response score of nurses after verbal abuse was 38.82±8.28. Ways to deal with verbal abuse were as follows: suppression was 74.4%, complaining of an injustice to close people, 67.5%, and ignoring, 43.6%. Conclusion: Nurses have significantly been exposed to verbal abuse while working in hospitals. Therefore, hospital managers and nurse managers are required to inform other staff and visitors in hospitals the real condition of verbal abuse against nurses and provide a safe work environment by developing the report and disposal system of verbal abuse.

The relationship between intention to leave the hospital and coping methods of emergency nurses after workplace violence

“…The perpetrators of verbal abuse were more often patients’ relatives than patients. This is presumably because, in the ED, patients’ relatives generally engage in open contact with the medical staff on behalf of the patient because of patients’ poor condition (Cho et al., ; Han et al., ). Furthermore, the unique characteristics of nursing work—in particular the need to constantly interact with patients and their families—mean that nurses are frequently exposed to conflict and tension, which in turn leads to an ever‐present risk of violence (Kim & Kim, ).…”

“…The perpetrators of violence towards emergency nurses are primarily patients. However, patients’ relatives are also a common source, as many relatives who visit the ED with patients must make contact with medical personnel on patients’ behalf, given that patients might be in too critical a condition to interact themselves (Cho et al., ; Han et al., ; Pich, Hazelton, Sundin, & Kable, ).…”

Experiences of violence, burnout and job satisfaction in Korean nurses in the emergency medical centre setting

“…Postviolence management is uncommon, and participants' responses were passive in that they tolerated, avoided or adapted to the violence, and little is known about the methods and procedures applied for violence management. However, there are professional and systematic means such as access to professional procedures and personnel for handling violence, close networking with police and rapid access to professional and legal avenues to support coping or management . Nurses' satisfaction in the ways violence is handled is reported to be increasing .…”

Relationships between Experiencing Verbal Violence and the Emotional Responses and Coping Behaviors of Dental Hygienists

“…Healthcare workers are generally required in their profession to constantly communicate with doctors, patients, and guardians, and verbal violence may occur during this process. Studies on healthcare workers' experiences of verbal violence have reported that more than 90% of nurses have experienced verbal violence from patients, doctors, and/or colleagues 7,8) . Moreover, 96.4%…”