Prevalence of Bullying/Mobbing behaviour among Nurses of Private and Public Hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan

Workplace violence towards nurses is a worldwide problem, with professional nurses at the greater risk of being subjected to workplace violence. While the actual prevalence of workplace violence towards nurses remains unknown, it is expected that a lack of respect towards the nursing profession in the Pakistani society is a significant factor that contributes to workplace violence towards nurses.

This study aimed to identify the prevalence and characteristics of bullying/mobbing behaviour experienced by nurses, working at the in-patient units and Emergency Departments of two private and two government hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan.

The study employed the cross-sectional design and included 458 nurses from 02 private and 02 government hospitals in Karachi, Pakistan. A simple random sampling technique was used to recruit the participants. Data was collected using an instrument that was jointly developed by International Labour Office (ILO), International Council of Nurses (ICN), World Health Organization (WHO), and Public Services International (PSI).

The study found 33.8% prevalence of bullying/mobbing behaviour among nurses. The study also reported highest prevalence of bullying/mobbing behaviour among young (19 to 29 years of age) female nurses with less than 5 years of work experience. Nurse participants belonged to the Medical Surgical units, Intensive Care Units, and Emergency and Psychiatric departments. The most common perpetrators of bullying behaviour were nurses in managerial positions.

The study identified the prevalence of bullying behaviour towards nurses in healthcare Settings of Pakistan. The findings of the study may serve as a milestone towards the implementation of “Harassment of Women at Workplace, Act 2010” and may help to achieve the violence free healthcare environment.