Workplace violence against emergency nurses in Taiwan: A phenomenographic study

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 psychological and professional harm caused by WPV might lead them to leave their hospital (Chang & Cho, ). Several recent studies have reported that nurses’ individual coping methods might influence the adverse effects of WPV (Al‐Ali, Faouri, & Al‐Niarat, ; Han et al., ; Hogarth, Beattie, & Morphet, ). However, there has been little research on how such coping methods can influence nurses’ intention to leave the hospital after experiencing WPV.…”

“…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, ).…”

“…The occurrence of WPV can influence nurses’ job performance and nursing care. Its influence on both the personal and professional aspects of emergency nurses can, in turn, increase nurses’ intention to leave the hospital by increasing levels of stress and burnout (Han et al., ; Hassankhani et al., ; Li, Chao, & Shih, ). A high nurse turnover rate can discourage the remaining nurses as well as increase their workload, which can further accelerate staff turnover (Chapman, Styles, Perry, & Combs, ).…”

“…Overall conclusions reached by many prior studies are that emergency nurses are significantly more likely to experience WPV and the negative effects of such violence can strengthen these nurses’ decision to leave their workplaces (Li et al., ). However, all such research focused on WPV incidence rates in the ED or the adverse effects of violence on staff (Han et al., ; Hassankhani et al., ; Spector et al., ); few studies have explored the relationship between leaving the hospital and emergency nurses’ coping methods after experiencing WPV.…”