RESUMO
BACKGROUND: Mobbing exerts severe psychological and occupational effects on the victim. This study aims to validate the Yildirim & Yildirim's Workplace Psychologically Violent Behaviors (WPVB) instrument (2008) in the Greek language in Greece, as cultural variations may result in significantly different perceptions of mobbing. METHODOLOGY: A translation process of the WPVB questionnaire scale was followed from the English to the Greek version and a review by a team of experts for its content validity took place, as well. Principal component analysis took place and the Cronbach's index was 0.95. The cross sectional, quantitative study was performed in 1536 health professionals (HPs), working in 11 public hospitals for at least one year with response rate of 76.8%. RESULTS: Factor analysis revealed two factors, and 31-item construct, compared to the four factors and the 33-item construct of the original version of the tool. All items were found to have a statistically significant correlation (p < 0.001). Median score was 0.48. Whereas 25% of answers score was above 1.00, thus suggesting significant mobbing in around 25% of HPs. Association of WPVBs subscales with sex and occupation are had lower values in women as compared to men. Lower scores on "Attack on personality" and "Total mobbing" score were recorded in nurses as compared to doctors. Doctors had lower scores on "Individual's isolation from work" as compared to administrative personnel, while had greater scores on "Individual's isolation from work" as compared to technicians. Nurses had significantly lower scores on "Attack on professional status", "Individual's isolation from work", "Direct attack" and "Total mobbing" score as compared to administrative personnel. CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights that the phenomenon of mobbing exists in Greek HPs regardless of age, gender, level of study and negatively affects their lives. Focusing on improving this area, is expected to promote occupational health and safety of these workers.
RESUMO
Workplace stress can influence healthcare professionals' physical and emotional well-being by curbing their efficiency and having a negative impact on their overall quality of life. The aim of the present study was to investigate the impact that work environment in a local public general hospital can have on the health workers' mental-emotional health and find strategies in order to cope with negative consequences. The study took place from July 2010 to October 2010. Our sample consisted of 200 healthcare professionals aged 21-58 years working in a 240-bed general hospital and the response rate was 91.36%). Our research protocol was first approved by the hospital's review board. A standardized questionnaire that investigates strategies for coping with stressful conditions was used. A standardized questionnaire was used in the present study Coping Strategies for Stressful Events, evaluating the strategies that persons employ in order to overcome a stressful situation or event. The questionnaire was first tested for validity and reliability which were found satisfactory (Cronbach's α=0.862). Strict anonymity of the participants was guaranteed. The SPSS 16.0 software was used for the statistical analysis. Regression analysis showed that health professionals' emotional health can be influenced by strategies for dealing with stressful events, since positive re-assessment, quitting and seeking social support are predisposing factors regarding the three first quality of life factors of the World Health Organization Quality of Life - BREF. More specifically, for the physical health factor, positive re-assessment (t=3.370, P=0.001) and quitting (t=-2.564, P=0.011) are predisposing factors. For the 'mental health and spirituality' regression model, positive re-assessment (t=5.528, P=0.000) and seeking social support (t=-1.991, P=0.048) are also predisposing factors, while regarding social relationships positive re-assessment (t=4.289, P=0.000) is a predisposing factor. According to our findings, there was a notable lack of workplace stress management strategies, which the participants usually perceive as a lack of interest on behalf of the management regarding their emotional state. Some significant factors for lowering workplace stress were found to be the need to encourage and morally reward the staff and also to provide them with opportunities for further or continuous education.
