Iranian Nurses' Perceptions of the Consequences of Horizontal Violence for Nurses: A Qualitative Content Analysis Study.

Background: Horizontal Violence (HV) in healthcare settings is any type of violence among healthcare providers. It has many different negative consequences for nurses. This study aimed at exploring Iranian nurses' perceptions of the consequences of HV for nurses.

Materials and methods: This qualitative content analysis study was conducted in 2022-2023 on twelve nurses purposively selected from five hospitals affiliated with Hamadan University of Medical Sciences in the west of Iran. In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted for data collection. The main interview question was, "Have you ever experienced HV in your relationships with your colleagues?" Graneheim and Lundman's conventional qualitative content analysis was used for data analysis.

Results: Iranian nurses' perceptions of the consequences of HV for nurses fell into three main categories, namely erosive tension (with four categories), professional repulsion (with two categories), and low-quality patient care (with two categories). The subcategories of these categories were, respectively, psychoemotional tension, mental tension, physical tension, social tension, low organizational belongingness, low professional interest, hesitation in performing care measures, and endangered patient safety.

Conclusions: The main consequences of HV for nurses are erosive tension, professional repulsion, and low-quality patient care. Nurse leaders can prevent HV by providing strong support and quality education to nurses. Interventional studies are recommended to determine the most effective methods to reduce HV in nurses' workplace.