A qualitative inquiry of causes and consequences of workplace violence towards female nurses of Pakistan

Bilal, Atif

Abstract

Workplace violence against female nurses is a longstanding issue in Pakistan. Though policy for violence is well defined both by the government and the hospital administrations, the issue is still unresolved. The purpose of this paper is to qualitatively discover the causes and consequences of workplace violence faced by female nurses in Pakistan. Furthermore, the study aims to investigate the effects of workplace violence on the performance of Pakistani female nurses. The study is qualitative in nature; data was collected in three sets (10+17+24) from 51 female nurses from June 2013 to October 2014 through in-depth interviews using open-ended questions. The average time of each interview was 22 minutes and all interviews were conducted at the workplace. The data were analyzed using the grounded theory, by comparing all three data sets. The open, exile and selective coding was done to reach the main themes and theoretical relationships of the data. Nvivo 10 software was used for the analysis of the data. The research shows that female nurses experienced different types of violence at their workplaces, including verbal abuse, unwelcome physical closeness, staring, asking for personal phone numbers and sexual remarks. The study also shows that because of violence, including harassment and verbal abuse, nurses experience stress, diminished problem-solving skills, aggression, distrust in male members of society, violence towards patients, shame, and physical insecurity. The study depicts an alarming situation of violence towards female nurses in the hospitals of Pakistan. Necessary measures must be taken to reduce such violence in order to promote a healthy and safe working environment in hospitals.

Citation

Bilal, A. (2015). A qualitative inquiry of causes and consequences of workplace violence towards female nurses of Pakistan. Pakistan Journal of Women’s Studies: Alam-e-Niswan, 22(2), 43-58

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 7, 2015
• Publication Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Deposit Date: Nov 17, 2023
• Journal: Pakistan Journal of Women’s Studies: Alam-e-Niswan
• Print ISSN: 1024-1256
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 22
• Issue: 2
• Pages: 43-58
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/11390883