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.
Introduction
The purpose of this research was to identify the prevalence of violence towards nursing staff in Slovenian nursing homes.
Methods
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).
Results
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.
Conclusion
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.