The relationship of health-related quality of life to workplace physical violence against nurses by psychiatric patients.
OBJECTIVE
To clarify the relationship of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) to workplace physical violence (WPV) against nurses by psychiatric patients.


METHODS
A Web-based WHOQOL-BREF was used to assess HRQoL and an intranet Workplace Violence Report System was used to record WPV incidents in order to design prospective longitudinal repeat measures over a period of 12 months, as well as using a subject-domain approach to detect any significant association between HRQoL and WPV.


RESULTS
A total of 129 physical violence events were reported, and the WHOQOL-BREF was completed a total of 860 times. A lower HRQoL score within 7 days before an event in psychological domain was a predictor of WPV after adjustment for other variables. Other consistent risk factors for violence were being married, shorter employment duration, and quite a bit or extreme worry about violence. The social domain scores worsened within 7 days after an event.


CONCLUSIONS
A worsened psychological domain score might predict violence, and improving HRQoL seems to be helpful in preventing WPV against nurses by psychiatric patients.
Department of Health, Yuli Hospital, Executive Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan. oldchen@ttyl.doh.gov.tw
Wen-Ching
WC
Chen
Chuan-Ju
CJ
Huang
Jing-Shiang
JS
Hwang
Chiao-Chicy
CC
Chen
D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D011788:Quality of Life; D014754:Violence; D017132:Workplace