Workplace violence among primary healthcare nurses in Molemole Sub-District, South Africa

Abstract

Work Place Violence against nurses is a serious and problematic phenomenon all over the world. PHC facilities are meant to provide health services, a safe and secure environment for both patients and nurses. However, many incidences of workplace violence against nurses have been reported and are continuously being reported in both developed and developing countries. Most violence is perpetrated by patients and visitors. In addition to that, the categories of health workers most at risk include nurses and other staff directly involved in patient care, emergency room staff and paramedics. There are more than two million work-related fatalities in the world yearly. The violence against nurses is quite unacceptable. Subsequently, it has not only a negative impact on the psychological and physical well-being of nursing staff but also affects their job motivation (WHO,2019). The purpose of the study was to determine workplace violence among primary healthcare nurses in the Molemole subdistrict, South Africa. A quantitative approach using a cross-sectional descriptive design was used in this study. The total population sampling was used to select 150 PHCWs from a total of eight (8) PHC facilities in the Molemole sub-district. Self-administered questionnaires with closed-ended questions were administered to respondents with at least 1-year working experience and above, who met the inclusion criteria. Ethics approval to conduct the study was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University of Venda and permission to access facilities was obtained from the Department of Health Limpopo Province. Data were analysed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 25) and presented in the form of tables, charts and graphs. Ethical principles were adhered to. findings revealed that the prevalence of workplace violence against nurses was very high. Verbal violence was the most common form of workplace violence. The results further revealed that work unit and workload perception significantly predicted workplace violence. The crosstabulation and the chi-square test was statistically significant, as it showed that work experience influences the occurrence of workplace violence with a conclusion that the more experience a PHC worker has the lesser the likelihood of occurrence of workplace violence (Phi=0.286, Cramer's V =0.203, chi square =0.04). The results further revealed that the occurrence of workplace violence in people who are working in psychiatric was high Based on the results obtained from the study the researcher concluded that Workplace violence in nurses is a problem in the Molemole district and it has the potential to compromise patient care. As such, measures must be taken to minimise workplace violence against nurses and to create a safe working environment for them. Topics on violence against nurses should be included in nursing education programmes and provided during in-service training for qualified nurses to promote their assertiveness and to raise awareness on the existence of violence against them