Associations between psychosocial risk factors, organizational dimensions, and mental health problems related to workplace violence among workers of three Chilean hospitals of high complexity

Abstract

The objective was to analyze the association between psychosocial risk factors, organizational dimensions, workplace violence, and indicators of mental health problems in three Chilean hospitals. A total of 1,023 workers answered a questionnaire, and descriptive, bivariate (chi-square), and multivariate (logistic regression with odds ratio as the measure of association) analyses were performed. Of all the interviewees, 14.7% reported workplace violence. Increased odds of workplace violence were associated with exposure to ISOSTRAIN (OR = 2.32, p = 0.001), effort-reward imbalance (OR = 5.52, p ≤ 0.001), tyrannical leadership (OR = 3.02, p ≤ 0.001), and vulnerability (OR = 1.97, p = 0.010). Workers exposed to ISOSTRAIN (OR = 1.78, p = 0.024), effort-reward imbalance (OR = 2.49, p = 0.001), workplace violence (OR = 2.13, p = 0.003), and vulnerability (OR = 2.29, p = 0.001) showed increased odds of high stress when compared to unexposed workers. Workers exposed to effort-reward imbalance (OR = 2.84, p ≤ 0.001) and workplace violence (OR = 1.76, p = 0.041) showed higher odds of reporting depressive symptoms. Those exposed to effort-reward imbalance (OR = 2.07, p ≤ 0.001) and work vulnerability (OR = 1.96, p = 0.001) showed higher odds of consuming psychoactive drugs. Work contexts with psychosocial risk factors, adverse organizational dimensions, and work vulnerability were associated with higher odds of workplace violence. Workers exposed to workplace violence, psychosocial risks, and vulnerability have higher odds of reporting mental health problems.