Benefits of Organizational Anger Management Program to Prevent Disruptive Behaviors: A Japanese Hospital Case Study

Abstract

Intervention to inhibit disruptive behavior (DB) in healthcare institutions remains an unmet need. This study intended to examine the feasibility of an organizational anger management (AM) program aimed at inhibiting DB triggered by anger. AM dissemination and awareness-building activities for all staff members (1366 individuals) were implemented from July 2020, including regularly held group AM introductory trainings, establishment of “I Will Not Get Angry Today” days (once per month), posting of AM promotion posters in all departments (changed monthly), disseminating AM-related knowledge through the in-hospital groupware application (twice per week), and introduction of AM training methods using the in-hospital periodical magazine. The number of responses to the awareness survey questionnaire 1 year after AM program was 730 (response rate: 54.2%). The results showed that the percentage of positive responses indicating that DB “Decreased” or “Somewhat Decreased” after AM program intervention was 35.8% overall. The percentages for nurses (n = 385) and non-nurses (n = 345) groups were 29.8% and 42.4%, respectively, showing a significantly lower value for nurses (p < 0.001). An organizational AM program aimed at inhibiting DB could be implemented at our facility. However, it was difficult to properly evaluate the efficacy due to the nature of the study.