Violence Experiences of Clinical Nurses and Nurse Aids in Hospitals

병원종사 간호 인력의 직장폭력 경험 실태

Purpose: The purpose of this study were to explore workplace violence experiences and to analyze differences of violence experiences based on the department and harmers to nurses in hospitals. Method: Data were collected from the self-reported survey of 496 nurses and nurse aids in three hospitals in D area in Korea from April to May in 2007. The data were analyzed by descriptive statistics and logistic regression analysis using SPSS Win 12.0. Result: The nurses in hospitals experienced offensive verbal abuse (88.4%), verbal threat (36.5%), physical violence (24.5%), serious physical violence (2.2%), and sexual harrassment (25.7%) during last one year in hospitals. Nursing staffs in hospital demonstrated different violent experiences by age and service areas. Conclusion: These findings revealed high rates of violence experiences of nursing staffs in hospital. Thus, hospitals should develop policies, guidelines, and programs for preventing and managing workplace violence.