Nurses' exposure to violence and their professional commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic

Aims and Objectives: This study aimed to determine the relationship between nurses' exposure to violence and their professional commitment during the COVID-19 pandemic. Background: Violence against nurses is a common problem that persists worldwide. Design: This was a descriptive cross-sectional study. Methods: An online questionnaire form and the Nursing Professional Commitment Scale were used to collect the data. The study was carried out online during the COVID-19 pandemic between October–December 2020. A total of 263 nurses agreed to participate in the study. The STROBE checklist was followed for observational studies. Results: During the COVID-19 pandemic, 8.4% of the nurses stated that they were exposed to physical violence, 57.8% to verbal violence, 0.8% to sexual violence and 61.6% to mobbing. 52.1% of the nurses stated that they thought of quitting the profession during the COVID-19 pandemic. The mean total Nursing Professional Commitment Scale score was 71.33 ± 15.05. Conclusions: This study revealed that nurses' exposure to physical, verbal and sexual violence during the COVID-19 pandemic decreased compared to before the pandemic. Nurses' exposure to mobbing during the pandemic was found to increase. A statistically significant difference was found between the status of the nurses' exposure to physical violence, verbal violence, and mobbing, working hours, number of patients given care, and their thoughts of quitting the profession. It was found that the status of exposure to physical violence, thinking of quitting the profession and working hours decreased professional commitment. Relevance to clinical practice: In the light of these results, it is recommended that measures to prevent violence should be addressed in a multifaceted way. In managing the pandemic process, the decisions and practices should not be left to the managers' initiative to prevent mobbing. Initiatives that will increase nurses' professional commitment during the pandemic process should be planned and implemented.