Violence in society has reached epidemic level and has permeated the walls of the workplace. Workplace violence has also spread across all occupations, especially those dealing with the public, and has escalated over the years. In this thesis the researcher explored the experiences, perceptions and coping mechanisms used by nurses exposed to violence in the health setting. The main focus was to determine how the nurses interpret abuse, and does this interpretation determine their response to the abuse.

Violence in society has reached epidemic level and has permeated the walls of the workplace. Workplace violence has also spread across all occupations, especially those dealing with the public, and has escalated over the years. In this thesis the researcher explored the experiences, perceptions and coping mechanisms used by nurses exposed to violence in the health setting. The main focus was to determine how the nurses interpret abuse, and does this interpretation determine their response to the abuse.

Thesis (MA (Psychology))--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / Much research has focused on the social and psychological dimensions of nursing; yet we have not identified the thoughts and feelings of health care professionals as a priority in trying to understand a variety of nursing phenomena. There is a need to explore how nurses understand their social and psychological worlds, specifically with regards to the phenomena of violence, abuse and neglect within health care. Therefore, this study has attempted to answer the following research question: How do nurses understand and talk about the occurrence of violence towards patients? The research question demanded the use of qualitative methods to collect and analyse data. In-depth interviews, consisting of open-ended questions were conducted. 11 female participants were enlisted from a tertiary hospital labour ward in Cape Town by means of convenience sampling. Data were transcribed and analysed using a combination of methods. In addition to more traditional methods, I have also included autoethnography in this thesis.

MPH / Department of Public Health