Evaluating Horizontal Violence and Bullying in the Nursing Workforce of an Oncology Academic Medical Center

Aim: To evaluate horizontal violence and bullying in the nursing workforce of an oncology inpatient and outpatient academic centre and to test the Horizontal Violence Scale in an outpatient setting.

Background: Horizontal violence (HV) and bullying in the workplace are dysfunctional behaviours that can affect nursing staff and patient care. The impact of bullying and HV is multilevel, affecting patient safety and satisfaction, nursing retention and employee satisfaction, while creating poor patient outcomes.

Methods: A quantitative cross-sectional descriptive design was used to examine prevalence of HV and bullying and the relationship between HV and bullying of nursing department personnel in an oncology setting.

Results: The study findings revealed significant positive relationships between bullying and HV in both inpatient and outpatient settings.

Conclusion: Nurses experience diverse workplace violence, which could decrease their professional quality of life and affect their turnover intention no matter the work setting.

Implications For Nursing Management: The findings of this study clearly link the presence of bullying and HV, which includes, emotional, physical, verbal and defiant behaviours to both inpatient and outpatient workplace settings. A positive organisational culture, which can be shaped by nursing leaders, can create a work environment that can thwart workplace violence.