Factors related to physical violence and verbal abuse by residents for public health nurses during home visits

Abstract

Recently, customer harassment has attracted considerable attention in various professional fields. Home visits are the basis of public health nurses’ activities, but there are few reports on customer harassment during home visits. This study clarified the current situation and factors related to verbal abuse and physical violence experienced from residents during public health nurses’ home visits. Data were collected from 80 individuals through a mailed survey of 154 public health nurses employed at 17 health centers in Gifu Prefecture. The survey utilized anonymous and self-administered questionnaires (response rate, 51.9%). The analysis showed that 80.0% of the participants had experienced the verbal abuse by residents during home visits, and 16.3% had experienced the physical violence. Result of logistic analysis, those who had experienced verbal abuse were approximately 10 times more likely to experience physical violence (adjusted odds ratio [AOR]=9.95; 95% confidence interval [CI]=2.49–39.79). Additionally, it was suggested that a factor associated with verbal abuse was “the number of months from starting work until visiting alone.” In contrast, factors associated with physical violence included “total years of experience as a public health nurse,” “highest level of education,” “qualifications,” “type of work,” and “experience outside of public health center or health center.”departmental bulletin pape