Patients are not fully human: a nurse's coping response to stress

Abstract

In this article, dehumanization of patients was studied as a strategy used by nurses to cope with stress. Affective organizational commitment (AOC) and affective commitment to patients (ACP) were tested as moderators.We also explored how nurses’ humanity attributions to their in-group relate to stress symptoms. Participants were nurses working in different wards of an Italian urban hospital. Findings showed that perceiving patients as not fully human was related to lower levels of stress symptoms for nurses with high AOC and ACP, but not for nurses with low AOC and ACP. Moreover, for highly committed nurses, the attribution of uniquely human traits to the in-group was associated with increased stress symptoms. Implications of findings for the relationship between nurses and patients are discussed

The Mediating Role of Psychophysic Strain in the Relationship Between Workaholism, Job Performance, and Sickness Absence

“…42,45,46 An occupational physician rated how often, during the previous 6 months, the worker felt each symptom, as a consequence of situations related to work. Examples of items are nausea, slow and difficult digestion, memory problems, and sleep problems.…”

Classism and dehumanization in chronic pain: A qualitative study of nurses’ inferences about women of different socio‐economic status

“…In this regard, some studies suggest that classism interferes in pain assessment and treatment (Hollingshead et al, 2016;Maly & Vallerand, 2018), with chronic pain more prevalent among low-SES people (Bonathan et al, 2013;Breivik et al, 2013), who often have their pain under-assessed when compared to patients of middle/ high SES (Hollingshead et al, 2016;Meghani et al, 2012). Second, the few studies analysing dehumanization in health care with psychosocial models have been more focused on how the dehumanization of patients can protect the mental health of professionals (Trifiletti, Di Bernado, Falvo, & Capozza, 2014;Vaes & Muratore, 2003), disregarding the processes and consequences of class-based dehumanization to patients themselves. First, studies of inequities in health care have been more attentive to disadvantaged populations in generalthat is, those disadvantaged by an association of race/ethnicity and classthus not focusing specifically on classism per se.…”

“…First, studies of inequities in health care have been more attentive to disadvantaged populations in generalthat is, those disadvantaged by an association of race/ethnicity and classthus not focusing specifically on classism per se. Second, the few studies analysing dehumanization in health care with psychosocial models have been more focused on how the dehumanization of patients can protect the mental health of professionals (Trifiletti, Di Bernado, Falvo, & Capozza, 2014;Vaes & Muratore, 2003), disregarding the processes and consequences of class-based dehumanization to patients themselves. It is hence relevant to study how the recognition of patients' SES by pain care professionalsfor example, nursesis linked with dehumanizing inferences, what dimensions of humanness these deny, and to what treatment recommendations they may be associated.…”

Intergroup Contact and Outgroup Humanization: Is the Causal Relationship Uni- or Bidirectional?

“…In sexual aggressions, the dehumanization of women is associated with men’s proclivity to sexual harassment and rape [25]. In medical contexts, patient infrahumanization may be used by health workers as a strategy to cope with job-related stress [26, 27]. Thus, strategies have to be singled out to curb the humanity bias, which is deeply rooted in the human cognitive system.…”