Abstract
Background Healthcare workers encounter violent and aggressive behaviour in the clinical areas.1 Among all professionals, nurses working in the Emergency Departments (ED) frequently experience these episodes during their work. Violence against nurses is an alarming issue that impacts the well-being of healthcare workers and compromises the quality of patient care.2 In Oman, violence toward nurses is highly prevalent in the ED.3 However, causes of this phenomenon have not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, this study aims to identify and describe the nurse perceptions of the typical factors that contribute to workplace violence (WPV) in the ED at a tertiary hospital in Oman.
Methods A qualitative descriptive design approach was implemented. Using a non-probability purposive sampling approach, a sample of 20 nurses working in the Tertiary hospital ED was selected and allocated to four focus groups. Data was collected from March 2023 to April 2023. Each session was 45–60 minutes. The Ecological Occupational Health Model (EOHM) of Workplace Assault was used as a guide for the discussion.
Results The study identified various factors that contribute to violence against nurses in the ED as perceived by the nursing team. The factors are organized into three themes (i.e Staff, Workplace, and Patient) based on the Ecological Occupational Health Model (EOHM) of Workplace Assault. Figure 1 contains the reported factors under each theme.
Conclusion There is a need to provide sufficient and effective training to nurses on managing violent situations in the workplace. Increasing the awareness of patients and their relatives on patient care processes in the ED may also help reduce WPV.
Reported factors that contribute to violence against nurses in the emergency department
References
Lim MC, Jeffree MS, Saupin SS, Giloi N, Lukman KA. Workplace violence in healthcare settings: the risk factors, implications and collaborative preventive measures. Annals of Medicine and Surgery [Internet] 2022 Jun;78(78):103727. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9206999/
Ras IA. The factors that affect violence against nurses in emergency departments. Heliyon [Internet] 2023;9(3):e14306. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e14306
Gillespie GL, Gates DM, Berry P. Stressful incidents of physical violence against emergency nurses. Online J Issues Nurs. [Internet] 2013;18(1):2. Available from: http://dx.doi.org/10.3912/ojin.vol18no01man02
Ethical Approval/IRB Statement This study was approved for implementation and publication by The Royal Hospital, Muscat, Oman (SRC#93/2022)
Disclosures and Acknowledgments The authors would like to acknowledge Emergency Department nurses for their effective participation during data collection and the hospital administration for their support provided to conduct this study.
