Conectar
To investigate interns' and junior nurses' perceptions, coping confidence and attitudes towards workplace violence in China.
Cross-sectional survey study involving 622 interns or nurses with < 5 years of hospital experience.
Data were gathered from the largest tertiary hospital in southwestern mainland China using a general information questionnaire, the Perception of Aggression Scale, the Confidence in Coping with Patient Aggression Instrument and the Management of Aggressive and Violence Attitude Scale. Structural equation modelling was used to understand relationships and pathways between the nurses' perceptions of, confidence in dealing with and attitudes towards managing workplace violence.
The average scores for the perception of workplace violence, confidence in coping with workplace violence and attitudes towards violence management were 37.44 (±11.60), 29.84 (±8.23) and 81.87 (±23.72), respectively. Perceptions of workplace violence, confidence in coping with workplace violence and attitudes towards violence management show low to moderate correlations; confidence in coping with workplace violence was the mediating variable in the interactions among the three variables.
Interns and junior nurses have weaker perceptions of workplace violence, lower confidence in their ability to cope with violence and more negative attitudes towards violence management. Perceptions of workplace violence affected attitudes towards violence management through the intermediary role of confidence in coping with workplace violence.
Nursing managers should increase education and training to improve interns' and junior nurses' awareness and confidence in dealing with workplace violence. Healthcare organisations should prevent and manage workplace violence to develop nurses' positive attitudes towards violence management.
The study adhered to the STROBE checklist of cross-sectional studies.
Interns and nurses with < 5 years of experience participated by voluntarily completing a paper questionnaire.
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