the relationship between verbal violence and psychological stress among nurses

Objectives: verbal abuse among healthcare professionals is a pervasive problem and workplace violence (wpv) is a prevalent phenomenon in the global healthcare business. this study aims to examine the relationship between verbal violence and psychological stress in wasit city, iraq.methods: a correlational-descriptive study was conducted using a convenient sample of 248 nurses in wasit city, iraq. the data collected from november 5, 2023, to february 7, 2024, were based on a dual-part self-report questionnaire. the first part consisted of questions about participants’ traits, the second part covered verbal abuse in the health sector survey, and the third part included a job-related stress scale. spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of variance analysis was used for the data analysis.results: the mean age for nurses is 29.6±6 years, and 53.6% of 46.4% were men. approximately 49.2% of the nurses were exposed to moderate levels of verbal violence, as defined using the job-related stress scale. the mean psychological stress between men and women (63.7%) significantly perceived moderate psychological stress in the workplace. a strong positive relationship is observed between verbal violence and psychological stress among nurses at p=0.001. as exposure to verbal violence increased, stress levels also increased.discussion: nearly half of the nurses in this study experienced verbal abuse, and over half experienced psychological stress. the two have a close relationship. this implies a relationship between verbal abuse directed against nurses and stressful work environments. future studies should examine this cause-and-effect link. furthermore, since some registered nurses reported higher rates of violence than others, further studies should examine how an individual’s traits or workplace environment affect risk.