Aggressions suffered and determinants of physical and non-physical violence towards nursing staff by patients and accompanying persons

Abstract

Introduction: the relationship between healthcare personnel and those accompanying patients can give rise to cases of aggressiveness in relation to an accumulation of misunderstandings, resentments or fears, which should be detected and defused before they could give rise to aggression. Objective: to analyze the determinants of physical and non-physical violence towards health personnel by patients and accompanying persons. Methods: An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out. The scope of the study included the nursing staff working in the pediatric critical areas of a hospital in the Buenos Aires metropolitan area. The study included a sample of 63 units of analysis. Results: the sample was predominantly female (76,2 %), with an average age of 45,3 years and a predominance of 66,7 % of the personnel with a degree in nursing. A total of 90,5 % had a history of violence by patients and/or companions. The most frequent type of violence was insults (73,7 %). The result of the application of the model based on Cronbach's alpha in our sample was 0,863. Conclusions: a considerable number of nursing staff experience verbal abuse, threats and physical abuse. This study contributes to the general understanding of violence in the nursing field in the Argentine context; however, more knowledge is needed on the consequences of workplace violence and its implications through the development of multicenter studies or with larger populations.