Creating Respectful Workplaces for Nurses in Regional Acute Care Settings: Protocol for a Sequential Explanatory Mixed Methods Study.

Natasha Hawkins,Tony Smith,Sarah Jeong

doi:10.2196/18643

Abstract

BackgroundNegative workplace behaviour among nurses is an internationally recognised problem, despite the plethora of literature spanning several decades. The various forms of mistreatments and uncaring attitudes experienced by nurses include workplace aggression, incivility, bullying, harassment and horizontal violence. Negative behaviour has detrimental effects on the individual nurse, the organisation, the nursing profession and patients. Multi-level organisational interventions are warranted to influence the “civility norms” of the nursing profession.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the self-reported exposure to and experiences of negative workplace behaviours of nursing staff and their ways of coping in regional acute care hospitals in one Local Health District (LHD) in NSW before and after Respectful Workplace Workshops have been implemented within the organisation.MethodsThis study employs a mixed methods sequential explanatory design with an embedded experimental component, underpinned by Social World’s Theory. This study will be carried out in four acute care regional hospitals from a Local Health District (LHD) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia. The nurse unit managers, registered nurses and new graduate nurses from the medical and surgical wards of all four hospitals will be invited to complete a pre-survey examining their experiences, perceptions and responses to negative workplace behaviour, and their ways of coping when exposed. Face-to-face educational workshops will then be implemented by the organisation at two of the four hospitals. The workshops are designed to increase awareness of negative workplace behaviour, the pathways to seek assistance and aims to create respectful workplaces. Commencing 3 months after completion of the workshop implementation, follow up surveys and interviews will then be undertaken at all four hospitals.ResultsThe findings from this research will enhance understanding of negative workplace behaviour occurring within the nursing social world and assess the effectiveness of the LHD’s Respectful Workplace Workshops upon the levels of negative workplace behaviour occurring. By integrating qualitative and quantitative findings it will allow for a dual perspective of the social world of nurses where negative and/or respectful workplace behaviours occur, and provide data grounded in individuals lived experiences, positioned in a macro contextConclusionsIt is expected that evidence from this study will inform nursing practice, and future policy development aimed at creating respectful workplaces.Trial RegistrationAustralian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (Registration No. ACTRN12618002007213; 14 December 2018).International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)PRR1-10.2196/18643

Highlights

BackgroundVarious forms of negative workplace behavior have been reported across the health care professions, including in nursing [1,2], allied health professions [3], and medicine [4]
The findings from this research will enhance understanding of negative workplace behaviour occurring within the nursing social world and assess the effectiveness of the Local Health District (LHD)’s Respectful Workplace Workshops upon the levels of negative workplace behaviour occurring
The aim of this study is to investigate the self-reported exposure to and experiences of negative workplace behaviors of nursing staff and their ways of coping in regional acute care hospitals in one local health district (LHD) in New South Wales before and after Respectful Workplace Workshops have been implemented within the organization

Summary

Introduction

BackgroundVarious forms of negative workplace behavior have been reported across the health care professions, including in nursing [1,2], allied health professions [3], and medicine [4]. Bullying is characterized by repetitive acts that are directed at a person or group by one or more perpetrators in a position of power [5], whereas horizontal violence occurs between peers in equal positions [6]. In addition to these reported high-intensity behaviors, it has been suggested that incivility, as defined by Pearson et al [7] as “low-intensity deviant behavior with ambiguous intent to harm the target, in violation of workplace norms,” occurs daily and is accepted as a normal part of the nursing socialization process. Multi-level organisational interventions are warranted to influence the “civility norms” of the nursing profession

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Conclusion