The relationship of health-related quality of life to workplace physical violence against nurses by psychiatric patients.

PURPOSE: 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.

CONCLUSION

A worsened psychological domain score might predict violence, and improving HRQoL seems to be helpful in preventing WPV against nurses by psychiatric patients.