The Relationship Between Violent Behavior in Healthcare Settings and Communication Skills: An Empirical Study on Provincial Hospitals in Ankara

Abstract

Objective: Violence in the health care is a multifaceted and complex social phenomenonthat attracts the attention of researchers and policymakers in many countries around theworld. Violence against healthcare workers has several factors, but there are limited dataon the association between violence against healthcare workers and the communicationskills of healthcare workers. In this study, we examine the relationship between healthcareprofessionals’ communication skills and violent incidents experienced or witnessedby healthcare workers.Methods: The sociodemographic and professional data of 296 healthcare professionalswere obtained. All participants were assessed using a communication skills inventory. Thetotal and categorical scores of the communication skills inventories were compared betweenparticipants who had been exposed to violence and those who had not.Results: It was found that the emotional score of individuals who had suffered more thanone physical attack was lower than that of others (P = .037). In addition, nurses were foundto have more verbal violent behavior experience than their counterparts. Other comparisonswere found to be insignificant.Discussion: Healthcare professionals should not only evaluate complex problems suchas violence in the health care but also emphasize the role of patients and their relatives.Violence against healthcare professionals cannot be based on a simple factor. We believethat there are many factors that lead to violence. The causes of violence in the health careshould be examined by future studies.