Incidence of type II workplace violence in Catalan nursing homes

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Nursing home professionals belong to one of the most vulnerable occupational groups when it comes to type II workplace violence. Cared-for elders carry out violent actions that affect both the health of professionals and the organisation and services provided in nursing homes. Taking notice of this phenomenon and getting to know its magnitude is the first step for preventive action and intervention to take place. In Catalonia, it was the medical community that started to notice workplace violence. However, the frequency of this phenomenon had not been investigated. OBJECTIVE: This study was carried out with the main goal of learning about the phenomenon of type II workplace violence in nursing homes. METHODS: 433 nursing home professionals of Catalonia volunteered to take part in this study. They remained anonymous and their data was treated confidentially. RESULTS: 68.6%(IC 95%: 64.1–73.1) of the nursing home professionals admitted to having been attacked by the senior citizens residing in these nursing homes. The occupation and self-perceived stress level of the professionals were related to the consideration of aggression. Verbal abuse was the type of aggression that targeted professionals reported the most. In 61.3 %of the cases, they were attacked by both male and female patients. CONCLUSION: The results of the study reveal that nursing home professionals are assaulted and/or attacked by the residents they tend to.