Citation

Tang N, Thomson LE. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2019; 16(19): e16193687.

Affiliation

Division of Psychiatry and Applied Psychology, School of Medicine, University of Nottingham, Jubilee Campus, Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK. louise.thomson@nottingham.ac.uk.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2019, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph16193687

PMID

31575019

Abstract

Healthcare disturbance is a form of workplace violence against healthcare workers perpetrated by patients, their relatives, and gangs hired by them. It is a prevalent phenomenon in China, where evidence suggests that it impacts on the job satisfaction of healthcare workers. This study aims to examine the relationship between healthcare disturbance, surface acting as a response to emotional labour, and depressive symptoms in Chinese healthcare workers. The study adopted a cross-sectional design and used an online survey methodology. Data were collected from 418 doctors and nurses from one hospital in China. The results showed that frequency of healthcare disturbance was positively related to surface acting and depressive symptoms, respectively; surface acting was also positively related to depression, while deep acting showed no effect on symptoms of depression. Furthermore, surface acting in response to emotional labour mediated the relationship between healthcare disturbance and depressive symptoms. The results highlight the importance of preventing healthcare disturbance and of training healthcare staff in strategies for managing emotional demands in reducing depressive symptoms in Chinese healthcare staff.

Language: en

Keywords

emotional labour; healthcare disturbance; psychological well-being; workplace violence