Psychosomatic symptoms among Palestinian nurses exposed to workplace aggression

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.