Abstract:
Background: The study examined associations between workplace aggression (WPA)
and psychosomatic symptoms in Palestinian nurses.
Methods: The 341 nurses, (62% females and 38% males), answered a WHO
questionnaire and a psychosomatic symptoms checklist.
Results: A total of 27.3% of the nurses reported exposure to WPA of any kind within
the last 12 months. After adjusting for covariates, female nurses exposed to WPA of
any kind and those exposed to verbal aggression reported a higher symptom score:
(1.5; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.3, 2.7), and (1.4; 95%CI 0.2, 2.6), respectively, than
unexposed females. Male nurses exposed to bullying reported a higher symptom score:
(3.2; 95%CI 1.0, 5.5) than unexposed males.
Conclusions: Exposure to WPA was associated with higher occurrences of
psychosomatic symptoms for both sexes. The female nurses reacted most strongly
to verbal aggression or to WPAof any type, while bullying was associated with the male
nurses' symptoms.
