Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study
Abstract Background Emergency departments (EDs) are high pressure work environments with several psychosocial job demands, e.g., violence, and job resources, e.g., colleague support. So far, the perceptions of working conditions have been compared between doctors and nurses, but there is limited kno...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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BMC
2025-01-01
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| Series: | BMC Emergency Medicine |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-024-01155-y |
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| author | Sonja Reißmann Mannat Guliani Tanja Wirth David A. Groneberg Volker Harth Stefanie Mache |
| author_facet | Sonja Reißmann Mannat Guliani Tanja Wirth David A. Groneberg Volker Harth Stefanie Mache |
| author_sort | Sonja Reißmann |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Background Emergency departments (EDs) are high pressure work environments with several psychosocial job demands, e.g., violence, and job resources, e.g., colleague support. So far, the perceptions of working conditions have been compared between doctors and nurses, but there is limited knowledge regarding their respective supervisors. In addition, the violence prevention climate has not been assessed in German EDs before. Thus, the current study focuses on differences in the perceptions of working conditions and the violence prevention climate between the groups of doctor-supervisors, doctor-employees, nurse-supervisors, and nurse-employees within the ED. Further analyses regarding the association between social relations and pressure for unsafe practices are performed, including the moderating role of belonging to one of the aforementioned groups. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was carried out among N = 370 participants, who were doctors or nurses from German EDs. The Questionnaire for Psychosocial Risk Assessment (QPRA) and the Violence Prevention Climate Scale (VPCS) were applied. Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed for group comparisons, followed by a hierarchical multiple linear regression model and moderation analyses. Results Statistically significant differences between the groups were found for eight out of 13 variables. The highest number of significant pairwise comparisons was found between the groups of doctor-supervisors and nurse-employees. High job demands regarding work intensity and work interruptions became apparent across all groups. Nurse-employees reported the highest social and emotional demands as well as the highest pressure for unsafe practices regarding violence prevention, significantly differing from the other groups on these variables. The variables of supervisor support and social stressors were found to be significantly predictive of pressure for unsafe practices. Furthermore, there was no moderating effect of belonging to one of the above-mentioned groups in the relationships between variables of social relations and pressure for unsafe practices. Conclusions Differences found in the current study can help tailor preventive measures according to the needs of distinct professions and positions in order to improve working conditions and the violence prevention climate in EDs. Furthermore, supervisor support should be strengthened while social stressors should be resolved in order to decrease pressure for unsafe practices regarding violence prevention. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-de7900de715440188996efe4b9e818dc |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1471-227X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-01-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
| record_format | Article |
| series | BMC Emergency Medicine |
| spelling | doaj-art-de7900de715440188996efe4b9e818dc2025-01-26T12:18:32ZengBMCBMC Emergency Medicine1471-227X2025-01-0125112210.1186/s12873-024-01155-yPsychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional studySonja Reißmann0Mannat Guliani1Tanja Wirth2David A. Groneberg3Volker Harth4Stefanie Mache5Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf (UKE)Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf (UKE)Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf (UKE)Institute of Occupational Medicine, Social Medicine and Environmental Medicine, Goethe University FrankfurtInstitute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf (UKE)Institute for Occupational and Maritime Medicine (ZfAM), University Medical Center Hamburg- Eppendorf (UKE)Abstract Background Emergency departments (EDs) are high pressure work environments with several psychosocial job demands, e.g., violence, and job resources, e.g., colleague support. So far, the perceptions of working conditions have been compared between doctors and nurses, but there is limited knowledge regarding their respective supervisors. In addition, the violence prevention climate has not been assessed in German EDs before. Thus, the current study focuses on differences in the perceptions of working conditions and the violence prevention climate between the groups of doctor-supervisors, doctor-employees, nurse-supervisors, and nurse-employees within the ED. Further analyses regarding the association between social relations and pressure for unsafe practices are performed, including the moderating role of belonging to one of the aforementioned groups. Methods A cross-sectional online survey was carried out among N = 370 participants, who were doctors or nurses from German EDs. The Questionnaire for Psychosocial Risk Assessment (QPRA) and the Violence Prevention Climate Scale (VPCS) were applied. Kruskal-Wallis tests were performed for group comparisons, followed by a hierarchical multiple linear regression model and moderation analyses. Results Statistically significant differences between the groups were found for eight out of 13 variables. The highest number of significant pairwise comparisons was found between the groups of doctor-supervisors and nurse-employees. High job demands regarding work intensity and work interruptions became apparent across all groups. Nurse-employees reported the highest social and emotional demands as well as the highest pressure for unsafe practices regarding violence prevention, significantly differing from the other groups on these variables. The variables of supervisor support and social stressors were found to be significantly predictive of pressure for unsafe practices. Furthermore, there was no moderating effect of belonging to one of the above-mentioned groups in the relationships between variables of social relations and pressure for unsafe practices. Conclusions Differences found in the current study can help tailor preventive measures according to the needs of distinct professions and positions in order to improve working conditions and the violence prevention climate in EDs. Furthermore, supervisor support should be strengthened while social stressors should be resolved in order to decrease pressure for unsafe practices regarding violence prevention.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-024-01155-yEmergency departmentWorking conditionsWorkplace violencePreventionViolence prevention climateOccupational safety |
| spellingShingle | Sonja Reißmann Mannat Guliani Tanja Wirth David A. Groneberg Volker Harth Stefanie Mache Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study BMC Emergency Medicine Emergency department Working conditions Workplace violence Prevention Violence prevention climate Occupational safety |
| title | Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in German emergency departments – a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | psychosocial working conditions and violence prevention climate in german emergency departments a cross sectional study |
| topic | Emergency department Working conditions Workplace violence Prevention Violence prevention climate Occupational safety |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12873-024-01155-y |
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