Creating a Nurse-Led Culture to Minimize Horizontal Violence in the Acute Care Setting: A Multi-Interventional...

Area of Science:

• Nursing
• Healthcare Management
• Organizational Behavior

Background:

• Horizontal violence (HV) is a pervasive problem in nursing environments.
• HV negatively impacts communication, teamwork, and patient safety.
• Limited evidence-based strategies exist to effectively mitigate HV in healthcare settings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate evidence-based interventions to address horizontal violence in an acute care hospital.
• To assess the impact of interventions on nurses' knowledge of HV policies and the prevalence of HV.
• To provide a model for addressing HV through collaboration with nursing professional development specialists.

Main Methods:

• Development and implementation of multifaceted interventions, including revised policies, behavioral performance reviews, and staff/manager education programs.
• Utilized nursing professional development specialists for guidance and oversight.
• Compared HV prevalence and policy knowledge with baseline data and external benchmarks.

Main Results:

• Nurses demonstrated increased knowledge of hospital policies related to horizontal violence.
• A statistically significant reduction (p < .05) in HV prevalence was observed compared to nurses in other New York State organizations.
• Evidence-based interventions were successfully integrated into hospital practice.

Conclusions:

• Targeted, evidence-based interventions can effectively reduce horizontal violence in nursing.
• Enhanced policy knowledge and structured interventions contribute to a safer work environment.
• Collaboration between nursing staff and professional development specialists is crucial for addressing complex workplace issues like HV.