의료기관내에서의 언어폭력에 관한 연구

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this study was aimed to investigate the experience of verbal abuse among nurses who work at the urban medical centers in Korea. The total number of subjects was 2312. Methods: Triangulation was used to identify the relation between variables. Results: The verbal abuses were analyzed in terms of content(12), cause(1), reaction(17) and coping(17). The 90.6% of the subjects experienced verbal abuse one to four times a month. The abuses were done most frequently by patients and their families. It happened most frequently during the weekday daytime. The 81.1% of the subjects thought about resignation after their exposure to verbal abuse. The 65.1% expressed their wish for a transfer to other departments. The various types of verbal abuse include low forms of speech, shouting, threatening and condescending words. The cause of verbal abuse was the venting of anger to nurses. The subjects' reaction to verbal abuse include anger, embarrassment, displeasure, humiliation, and lowered self-esteem. Conclusion: The findings of this study show that the episodes of verbal abuse on nurses tended to be triggered in stress-related situations; that the verbal abuse was caused by anger of patients and their families; that the nurses were not respected as health care professionals by patients and/or families.