The Antecedents of Horizontal Violence Among Nurses: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study

Horizontal violence (HV) in healthcare settings refers to any type of violence among healthcare providers and is a serious challenge in nursing. Many different factors may put nurses at risk for HV. This study aimed to explore the antecedents of HV among nurses.

This qualitative content analysis was conducted in 2022-2023. Participants were 15 nurses purposefully selected from five hospitals affiliated to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran. In-depth semistructured interviews were conducted for data collection. The main interview question was, "Have you ever experienced HV in your relationships with your colleagues?" Graneheim and Lundman's conventional content analysis was used for data analysis.

The antecedents of HV among nurses were grouped into two main categories, namely, nurses' personality traits and the violence-laden culture of nursing. The subcategories of specific personality traits were bullying personality and oppressed personality, and the subcategories of the violence-laden culture of nursing were managers' discriminatory and unjust behaviors and the tense work atmosphere of nursing.

Nurses' personality traits, managers' discriminatory and unjust behaviors, and the tense work atmosphere of nursing are among the most important antecedents of HV among nurses. These factors can negatively affect nurses' physical, mental, emotional, and social health, reduce their job motivation, lead to their intention to quit nursing, and undermine care quality.