Premium
Does workplace violence, empathy, and communication influence occupational stress among mental health nurses?
Author(s) -
Yao Xiuyu,
Shao Jing,
Wang Lina,
Zhang Jing,
Zhang Chang,
Lin Yujie
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of mental health nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.911
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1447-0349
pISSN - 1445-8330
DOI - 10.1111/inm.12770
Subject(s) - empathy , mental health , occupational stress , medicine , workplace violence , competence (human resources) , occupational safety and health , nursing , population , clinical psychology , scale (ratio) , psychology , suicide prevention , psychiatry , poison control , social psychology , environmental health , physics , pathology , quantum mechanics
Workplace violence is a major cause of occupational stress among mental health nurses, particularly those working in acute care. This study investigated the occurrence of occupational stress among mental health nurses in psychiatric hospitals and explored whether workplace violence, empathy, and communication skills influenced occupational stress levels in this population. A socio‐demographic questionnaire and the Chinese Nursing Work Stress Scale, Workplace Violence Scale, Jefferson Scale of Empathy – Health Professions version, and Nurses’ Clinic Communication Competence Scale were administered to 539 mental health nurses from three top‐grade tertiary research hospitals in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. The analysis revealed a high level of job stress (3.06 ± 0.69) and a moderate prevalence of workplace violence (6.21 ± 2.94) existed among participants when compared with among other nurses. Meanwhile, participants’ empathy (114.78 ± 15.99) and communication (4.31 ± 0.60) abilities were similar to or higher than those of other nursing populations. Mental health nurses with varying years of practice experience distinct levels of job stress. A linear regression analysis revealed that, while practice years (β = 0.104; P < 0.05) and workplace violence (β = 0.264; P < 0.01) aggravated occupational stress levels, empathy (β = −0.147; P < 0.01) facilitated reductions in stress. Results suggest that reducing workplace violence and improving empathy in therapeutic relationships can limit the pervasiveness of occupational stress among mental health nurses. Having both psychological support and organizational support after a violent incident is essential, and the importance of professional education should be stressed.