How Patient-Perpetrated Workplace Violence Leads to Turnover Intention Among Nurses: The Mediating Mechanism of Occupational Stress and Burnout

ABSTRACT

This study looked into the impact of patient-perpetrated workplace violence on nurses’ turnover intention by examining the sequential mediation effect of occupational stress and burnout. Results were obtained by analyzing the data collected from 216 nurses working in four public hospitals of central Pakistan. Results provided full support to the research hypotheses, demonstrating that patient-inflicted violence negatively affects nurses’ turnover intention, and that occupational stress and burnout both individually mediate the patient violence–turnover intention relationship. Particularly, the results illustrated that patient violence is related to turnover intention through occupational stress first and then burnout. These results widen the focus of past research by demonstrating that the patient violence–turnover intention link is not as simple as previously believed. Future researchers can use these findings to further develop integrated models that explore the adverse consequences of workplace violence on nursing staff’s personal and professional well-being.

KEYWORDS:

• Burnout
• nurse
• patient
• occupational stress
• turnover intention
• workplace violence

Acknowledgment

This study was approved by the research ethics committee of Bahria University, Islamabad.