<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0027_s_333_w2aab3b8c11b1b7b1aab1c15b1Aa"><h3>Introduction</h3><p>The purpose of this research was to identify the prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0027_s_334_w2aab3b8c11b1b7b1aab1c15b2Aa"><h3>Methods</h3><p>For the purpose of this study, a non-experimental sampling method was employed, using a structured questionnaire as a data collection instrument (n=527). The contents of the questionnaire proved valid and reliable, with a high enough degree of internal consistency (Cronbach Alpha minimum 0.82).</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0027_s_335_w2aab3b8c11b1b7b1aab1c15b3Aa"><h3>Results</h3><p>The nursing staffs working in nursing homes for senior citizens are at high risk of violence. In the last year, the employees were most often faced with verbal violence (71.7%), physical violence (63.8%) and sexual violence (35.5%). 35.5% of employees suffered injuries at their working place. During aggressive outbursts of nursing home residents, employees particularly experience vulnerability, fear and insecurity.</p></sec><sec id="j_sjph-2016-0027_s_336_w2aab3b8c11b1b7b1aab1c15b4Aa"><h3>Conclusion</h3><p>There is a need for a comprehensive approach to tackle workplace violence. Some psychiatric health care facilities have already introduced certain measures in this field, and reduction of workplace violence proves that it is possible to reduce aggressive outbursts of patients. After conducting further quantitative research, which would expose detailed characteristics and the background of such violence, it would be sensible to develop similar measures in the field of health care in nursing homes.</p></sec></abstract>

IntroductionThe purpose of this research was to identify the prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes.MethodsFor the purpose of this study, a non-experimental sampling method was employed, using a structured questionnaire as a data collection instrument (n=527). The contents of the questionnaire proved valid and reliable, with a high enough degree of internal consistency (Cronbach Alpha minimum 0.82).ResultsThe nursing staffs working in nursing homes for senior citizens are at high risk of violence. In the last year, the employees were most often faced with verbal violence (71.7%), physical violence (63.8%) and sexual violence (35.5%). 35.5% of employees suffered injuries at their working place. During aggressive outbursts of nursing home residents, employees particularly experience vulnerability, fear and insecurity.ConclusionThere is a need for a comprehensive approach to tackle workplace violence. Some psychiatric health care facilities have already introduced certain measures in this field, and reduction of workplace violence proves that it is possible to reduce aggressive outbursts of patients. After conducting further quantitative research, which would expose detailed characteristics and the background of such violence, it would be sensible to develop similar measures in the field of health care in nursing homes.

Prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes

National Institute of Public Health, Trubarjeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana,

University of Ljubljana, Faculty of Medicine, Vrazov trg 2, 1000 Ljubljana,

Slovenian Journal of Public Health

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

PREVALENCA NASILJA NAD ZAPOSLENIMI V ZDRAVSTVENI NEGI V DOMOVIH STAREJŠIH OBČANOV

IntroductionThe purpose of this research was to identify the prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes.MethodsFor the purpose of...

Claim	N	Min intensity	Max intensity	Mean intensity	Std.dev
Fear	520	1	5	3.50	1.29
Insecurity	515	1	5	3.41	1.13
Helplessness	514	1	5	3.33	1.19
Lack of training	511	1	5	2.95	1.34
Anger	513	1	5	1.92	1.01
Despair	511	1	5	3.16	1.46
Vulnerability	516	1	5	3.52	1.29
Lack of empathy	513	1	5	1.93	.99
by co-workers
Lack of empathy	514	1	5	3.12	1.11
by superiors

Have you been exposed to verbal abuse by patients at your workplace in the last year?	YES = 378	71.1%
	If so, how often?
	1-2x	170
	3-5x	136
	6-9x	18
	10x<	54
Have you been exposed to verbal abuse by co-workers or superiors at your workplace during the last	YES = 74	14%
	If so, how often?
	1-2x	30
	3-5x	30
	6-9x	9
	10x<	6
Have you been exposed to sexual harassment by patients at your workplace during the last year?	YES = 186	35.5%
	If so, how often?
	1-2x	154
	3-5x	22
	6-9x	8
	10x<	5
Have you been exposed to sexual harassment by co-workers or superiors at your workplace during the last	YES = 5	0.9%
	If so, how often?
	1-2x	4
	3-5x	0
	6-9x	1
	10x<	0
Have you been exposed to physical violence by patients at your workplace during the last year?	YES = 336	63.8%
		If so, how often?
	1-2x	148
	3-5x	110
	6-9x	21
	10x<	22
Have you been exposed to physical violence by co-workers or superiors at your workplace during the last year?	YES = 5	0.9%
	If so, how often?
	1-2x	2
	3-5x	2
	6-9x	1
	10x<	0
Have you ever been injured by a patient at your workplace?	YES = 194	36.8%
Have you ever been injured by a patient at your workplace?	If so, how often?
	1-2x	171
	3-5x	21
	6-9x	1
	10x<	2

Prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes

Article Category: Research article

Published Online: May 10, 2016

Page range: 212 - 217

Received: Nov 16, 2015

Accepted: Mar 24, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/sjph-2016-0027

© National Institute of Public Health, Slovenia

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Figure 1

Employees dealing with certain emotions and states - the results of the study on workplace violence of patients towards staff in Slovenian nursing homes in 2015.

Work and workplace violence (n=527) - the results of the study on violence of patients towards staff in Slovenian nursing homes in 2015.