中華心理衛生協會

Purpose: While medical violence has attracted much attention on the part of scholars and practitioners alike, little empirical research is available on fear of workplace violence within medical settings in Taiwan. This study draws on the routine activities approach to explore the levels and influence of fear of workplace violence among nursing staff in Taiwan’s medical institutions. Methods: Using convenience sampling, we collected data via mail and online surveys between January and February in 2015. As a result, a total of 251 respondents have been reached to conduct a self-administered questionnaire. Results: More than 87% of respondents reported that they had experienced some kind of workplace violence from patients or visitors in the previous 12 months prior to this survey. These respondents expressed a high level of fear of violence in workplace at 5.02 on a 6-point scale. OLS multiple regression models showed that while the variables of female, victimization, emergency room (ER) and intensive care unit (ICU), being well-trained experiences, exposure to risky patients, and accessibility to potential offenders dramatically increased the level of fear of workplace violence, workplace surveillance and the presence of an emergency alarm system significantly reduced the probability of fear of workplace violence. Conclusion: Policy implications derived from the routine activities approach are as follows: improve nurses’ ability to identify high-risk patients, separate the high-risk patients from other patients, strengthen surveillance and monitoring of the workplace, and strengthen the self-protection abilities of medical staff.