Male nurses experience more patient abuse: Study

By Tiffany Crawford, The Calgary Herald

A higher number of Canadian male nurses are experiencing physical assault and emotional abuse than their female counterparts, according to a study published Wednesday by Statistics Canada.

The Health Reports study looked at on-the-job abuse of nurses by patients providing direct care in hospitals or long-term care facilities and is the first of its kind to study the problem.

Of the 12,200 Canadian nurses studied in 2005, a higher percentage of male nurses were reporting abuse.

Close to half (46 per cent) of male nurses reported that they had been physically assaulted by a patient in the previous year, compared with 33 per cent of female nurses, according to the study.

Emotional abuse was reported by 55 per cent of male nurses and 46 per cent of female nurses.

The study suggested that one reason for a higher percentage of male abuse could be that there is a greater tendency to expose men to violent patients and a tendency for male nurses to feel protective of female staff and assume the primary role in restraining aggressive patients.

Overall, more than one-third of nurses in Canada say they were physically assaulted by a patient in 2005, while 47 per cent reported emotional abuse. The results varied depending on what area of health the nurses worked in.

For example, physical assault was highest for nurses working in geriatrics (50 per cent) followed by palliative care (47 per cent.) Psychiatry/mental health, critical care and the emergency room were also areas found to have incidents of physical assault.

Emotional abuse was highest among nurses working in psychiatry/mental health (70 per cent), the emergency room (69 per cent) and critical care (54 per cent.)

The authors of the study, Margot Shields and Kathryn Wilkins found that health-care providers are subject to a high risk of workplace violence, and nurses are most at risk.

Complaints of abuse were also higher among places where staffing or resources were perceived to be insufficient, or they reported poor relations with physicians.

“If nurses lack the time to complete necessary tasks as a result of staffing and resource inadequacy, patients may become agitated, thereby increasing the risk of violence directed at the nurse,” the authors of the study, Margot Shields and Kathryn Wilkins, noted in their study.

The study found more than half of nurses perceived that there were not enough nurses on staff to provide quality patient care.

Related: Full report from Statistics Canada: Factors related to on-the-job abuse of nurses by patients