Critical Care Nurses' Perceptions of Abuse and Its Impact on Healthy Work Environments in Five European Countries: A Cross-Sectional Study

• Published in: International journal of public health Vol. 69; p. 1607026
• Main Authors: Friganović, Adriano, Slijepčević, Jelena, Režić, Slađana, Cristina Alfonso-Arias, Cristina, Borzuchowska, Monika, Constantinescu-Dobra, Anca, Coțiu, Madalina-Alexandra, Estel Curado-Santos, Estel, Dobrowolska, Beata, AGutysz-Wojnicka, Aleksandra, Hadjibalassi, Maria, Laurado-Serra, Mireia, Sabou, Adrian, Georgiou, Evanthia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Frontiers Media S.A 2024
• Subjects: abuse; Adult; critical care; Critical Care Nursing; Cross-Sectional Studies; Europe; Female; healthy work environment; Humans; Intensive Care Units; Male; Middle Aged; nursing; Nursing Staff, Hospital - psychology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Working Conditions; Workplace - psychology; workplace violence; Workplace Violence - psychology; Workplace Violence - statistics & numerical data; Europe; critical care; workplace violence; nursing; abuse; healthy work environment
• ISSN: 1661-8564; 1661-8564
• DOI: 10.3389/ijph.2024.1607026

Workplace violence is a prevalent phenomenon in hospital settings which critical care nurses are particularly exposed to. The aim of this study was to research abuse against Critical Care Nurses in five European countries, and its association with and impact on Healthy Work Environments. This was a multinational cross-sectional study. The 1,183 participants were nurses working in intensive care units from five European countries: Croatia, Cyprus, Poland, Spain, and Romania. The participants were selected by the convenience sampling method from 1 January 2021 to April 2022. Of 1,033 critical care nurses who answered questions about abuse, 646 reported at least one incident in the previous year. The highest number of incidents came from patients (2,050), followed by another nurse (1,453) and physicians (1,039). Although nurses in ICUs are aware that a healthy working environment benefits them in their daily work, most of them still face some form of abuse. Organizations must take a realistic approach to prevent abuse and to educate nurses and nurse managers by implementing standards for healthy work environments.