Worker resignation due to patient nuisance in hospitals: Determinants and prevention

ABSTRACT

To investigate determinants and protective strategies for the resignation of health care workers resulting from patient-derived nuisance in medical institutions, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in the 57 hospitals in Mie Prefecture, Japan. A random sampling of 775 employees (physicians, nurses, administrators, and other health care workers) was provided self-administered questionnaires. Among 480 participants who experienced patient-derived nuisance, 132 participants considered resignation as a result, giving an estimated prevalence of 17.1% (95% CI: 14.4%–19.8%) of all respondents. Nonphysical nuisances such as “demand for an unwarranted apology” (OR: 2.57; 95% CI: 1.61–4.12) had higher ORs for considering resignation than other kinds of nuisance. By contrast, OR for the provision of human support by medical institutions was 0.49 (95% CI: 0.28–0.86). Human support was associated with alleviation of the intention to resign.

KEYWORDS:

• Health care workers
• nonphysical violence
• nuisance
• occupational safety
• resignation