Determinants and consequences of workplace violence against hospital-based nurses: a rapid review and synthesis of international evidence
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Determinants and consequences of workplace violence against hospital-based nurses: a rapid review and synthesis of international evidence

Tolulope Regina Oludare Staff nurse, Russells Hall Hospital, Dudley, England
Grigorios Kotronoulas @nursGK704 Lecturer in nursing and healthcare, School of Medicine, Dentistry and Nursing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland

Why you should read this article:
  • To increase your knowledge of the factors that influence workplace violence against nurses

  • To enhance your awareness of the negative outcomes of workplace violence for nurses and for nursing

  • To further your understanding of what healthcare organisations need to do to tackle workplace violence

Workplace violence against nurses is an international public health issue with likely detrimental consequences for individuals, systems and societies. To effectively address workplace violence against nurses, its root causes must be understood and its effect on nurse outcomes quantified. In line with Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, the authors rapidly reviewed the international literature to identify determinants of workplace violence against hospital-based nurses and the effects of workplace violence on nurse outcomes. Twenty-one studies (22 articles) formed the final sample – 16 quantitative, three qualitative and two mixed-methods studies. Supervisors, other nurses and physicians were the major perpetrators of workplace violence against nurses.

Perpetrators of workplace violence were other nurses or physicians, the workplace, patients, and organisational management. Workplace violence was linked to deficits in nurses’ health, job satisfaction and intention to stay in their role. To address workplace violence, evidence-based zero-tolerance policies, preventive interventions and appropriate disciplinary actions must be implemented at organisational and national level.

Nursing Management. 29, 6, 18-25. doi: 10.7748/nm.2022.e2056

Correspondence

grigorios.kotronoulas@glasgow.ac.uk

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

Conflict of interest

None declared

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Funding

This article is drawn from a master’s programme assignment supported financially by the Commonwealth Scholarship Commission and the University of Glasgow

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