Workplace violence towards nurses in Hong Kong: prevalence and correlates

• Published in: BMC public health 2017-02, Vol.17 (1), p.196-196, Article 196
• Main Authors: Cheung, Teris, Yip, Paul S F
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Abuse; Adult; Aggression; Anxiety; Assaults; Bullying; Cross-sectional; Cross-Sectional Studies; DASS21; Data collection; Drug tolerance; Emotional abuse; Female; Health aspects; Health care; Hong Kong - epidemiology; Humans; Job satisfaction; Male; Medical personnel; Mental depression; Mental health; Middle Aged; Nurses; Nurses - psychology; Nursing; Occupational hazards; Population studies; Practice; Prevalence; Public health; Risk Factors; Self-injury; Sexual harassment; Shift work; Social aspects; Sociodemographics; Stress; Studies; Supervisors; Surveys and Questionnaires; Violence; Working conditions; Workplace violence; Workplace Violence - prevention & control; Workplace Violence - psychology; Workplace Violence - statistics & numerical data; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-017-4112-3

Nurses are especially vulnerable to violent and other forms of aggression in the workplace. Nonetheless, few population-based studies of workplace violence have been undertaken among working-age nurse professionals in Hong Kong in the last decade. The study estimates the prevalence and examines the socio-economic and psychological correlates of workplace violence (WPV) among professional nurses in Hong Kong. The study uses a cross-sectional survey design. Multivariate logistic regression examines the weighted prevalence rates of WPV and its associated factors for a population of nurses. A total of 850 nurses participated in the study. 44.6% had experienced WPV in the preceding year. Male nurses reported more WPV than their female counterparts. The most common forms of WPV were verbal abuse/bullying (39.2%), then physical assault (22.7%) and sexual harassment (1.1%). The most common perpetrators of WPV were patients (36.6%) and their relatives (17.5%), followed by colleagues (7.7%) and supervisors (6.3%). Clinical position, shift work, job satisfaction, recent disturbances with colleagues, deliberate self-harm (DSH) and symptoms of anxiety were significantly correlated with WPV for nurses. WPV remains a significant concern for healthcare worldwide. Hong Kong's local health authority should put in place a raft of zero-tolerance measures to prevent WPV in healthcare settings.