Lateral Hostilities Among Nurses Employed in Intensive Care Units, Emergency Departments, Operating Rooms, and Emergency Medical Services

Abstract BACKGROUND: Lateral hostilities (LHs) are "nasty, unkind, aggressive behavior between colleagues working at comparable organizational levels." When LHs occur "at least once a week for a period of not less than 6 months," they become "bullying." The frequency of lateral violence in health care literature varies from 5.7% to 65%. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to explore the extent of LH and the effects on the quality of lives of Italian nurses working in prehospital emergency medical system, emergency department, intensive care unit, and operating rooms. METHODS: A descriptive study was conducted through an online survey in the Web site of the National Italian Association of Critical Care Nurses (ANIARTI). RESULTS: A total of 1504 nurses filled up the questionnaire, with 1202 valid data entries (79.9%). Of this group, 739 (61.5%) were women and 951 (79.1%) had experienced some form of LH at least once in the last 12 months, whereas 269 (22.4%) felt to be victims of bullying. The number of transfers to other departments/services due to LH was 43 cases (3.6%), and 829 (69%) experienced psychophysical disorders attributed to LH experienced in the span of the year. DISCUSSION: Lateral hostility is a frequent occurrence that calls for implementation of management policies to achieving an overall improvement of the work environment climate.