Development and Validity of Workplace Bullying in Nursing-Type Inventory (WPBN-TI)

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop an instrument to assess bullying of nurses, and test the validity and reliability of the instrument. METHODS: The initial thirty items of WPBN-TI were identified through a review of the literature on types bullying related to nursing and in-depth interviews with 14 nurses who experienced bullying at work. Sixteen items were developed through 2 content validity tests by 9 experts and 10 nurses. The final WPBN-TI instrument was evaluated by 458 nurses from five general hospitals in the Incheon metropolitan area. SPSS 18.0 program was used to assess the instrument based on internal consistency reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity. RESULTS: WPBN-TI consisted of 16 items with three distinct factors (verbal and nonverbal bullying, work-related bullying, and external threats), which explained 60.3% of the total variance. The convergent validity and determinant validity for WPBN-TI were 100.0%, 89.7%, respectively. Known-groups validity of WPBN-TI was proven through the mean difference between subjective perception of bullying. The satisfied criterion validity for WPBN-TI was more than .70. The reliability of WPBN-TI was Cronbach's alpha of .91. CONCLUSIONS: WPBN-TI with high validity and reliability is suitable to determine types of bullying in nursing workplace.

Effect of Workplace Bullying and Job Stress on Turnover Intention in Hospital Nurses / 정신간호학회지

PURPOSE: The purposes of this study were to explore nurse' bullying experiences according to demographic characteristics and to identify effects of workplace bullying and job stress on turnover intention in hospital nurses. METHODS: One hundred sixty-one graduate students working as nurses were recruited. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient, and Stepwise multiple regression with PASW 18.0. RESULTS: Results show that 23.0% of the nurses interviewed had experienced bullying in the workplace within the last six months and 19.4% had been bullied during the entire employment period. Bullying perpetrators included nurses (52.9%), physicians (23.0%), and patients (17.8%). Bully nurses consisted of senior nurses (63.0%), managers or supervisors (29.6%), colleagues (3.7%), and junior nurses (3.7%). Job turnover intention in hospital nurses was significantly correlated with workplace bullying (r=.20, p=.012) and job stress (r=.37, p<.001). The most significant predictors influencing the turnover intention of hospital nurses were job stress, age, and bullying in total career and these factors accounted for 21.0% of the variance. CONCLUSION: Job stress and bullying significantly influence turnover intention. Therefore, educational programs should be developed and implemented to prevent workplace bullying.

Flowers of Inula japonica Attenuate Inflammatory Responses

BACKGROUND: The flowers of Inula japonica (Inulae Flos) have long been used in traditional medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases. In the present study, we investigated the anti-inflammatory properties of Inulae Flos Extract (IFE). METHODS: The anti-inflammatory effects of IFE against nitric oxide (NO), PGE2, TNF-alpha, and IL-6 release, as well as NF-kappa B and MAP kinase activation were evaluated in RAW 264.7 cells. RESULTS: IFE inhibited the production of NO and the expression of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) in LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cells. In addition, IFE reduced the release of pro-inflammatory cytokines, such as TNF-alpha and IL-6. Furthermore, IFE inhibited the NF-kappa B activation induced by LPS, which was associated with the abrogation of I kappa B-alpha degradation and subsequent decreases in nuclear p65 and p50 levels. Moreover, the phosphorylation of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAP kinases in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells was suppressed by IFE in a dose-dependent manner. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that the anti-inflammation activities of IFE might be attributed to the inhibition of NO, iNOS and cytokine expression through the down-regulation of NF-kappa B activation via suppression of I kappa B alpha and MAP kinase phosphorylation in macrophages.