Violencia de los usuarios hacia profesionales de salud mentaladaptación de la healthcare aggressive behaviour scale-users (HABS-U)

Resumen

Workplace violence is present in many work spheres, but in the area of Mental Health, professionals have a higher risk due to the close relationship they have with the users and the special characteristics of these patients. The study aims to adapt y validate the Healthcare Aggressive Behaviour Scale-Users, developed in hospitals for mental health population, and to test its psychometric properties. The instrument was applied to a sample of 359 mental health professionals from Murcian Health Service (MHS). Exploratory factor analysis yielded a 10 items instrument distributed in two factors (non-physical violence and physical violence). Both the resulting questionnaire and the factors identified present high internal consistency and adequate external validity, analyzed by means of statistically significant correlations between the scale and job satisfaction, burnout components, empathy and psychological well-being. The results indicate that, in mental health personnel, higher exposure to user violence leads to lower job satisfaction, more emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and to a lower level of psychological well-being.