AGGRESSION AND BURNOUT IN NURSES DURING COVID‐19: A CROSS‐SECTIONAL STUDY BY SPECIALIZATION AND YEARS OF EXPERIENCE

Workplace violence against nurses is an ever-present problem in the healthcare workplace which has been increasing with COVID-19 and affects occupational health. This study analyzed the consequences of COVID-19 on violence against nurses, identifying its association with burnout, emphasizing the importance of work-related variables. A total of 1013 actively-employed nurses in Spain with a mean age of 34.71 filled out a CAWI (Computer Aided Web Interviewing). Aggression as a consequence of their work was reported by 73.44% of the nurses. Those most affected were in primary care, and verbal aggression by patients and their families was the most frequent. Nurses attacked scored significantly higher in emotional exhaustion and depersonalization. Furthermore, 83.22% said that COVID-19 was an important factor in the increase in violence toward healthcare workers. Mediation analyses showed that a perceived secure environment was a mediator between the belief that COVID-19 was an influential factor in the increase of violence and burnout depersonalization. Increasing the perceived security in the work environment among nurses, can be effective measures to promote well-being, work performance and commitment to the profession. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.