Global perspectives on bullying in health care: Policy trends

The concept of bullying has emerged as a significant issue confronting health care professionals. The World Health Organization (WHO) and Institute of Medicine (IOM) recognize bullying as a widespread international public health dilemma. This global issue has been documented in Australia, Canada, Japan, Iraq, Scandinavia, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the U.S.

Bullying poses a threat to the target and the organization in clinical settings which must be addressed to ensure quality care and positive patient outcomes. Research suggests that bullied individuals experienced decreased cognitive performance and less job satisfaction which may increase poor patient outcomes yielding potential financial loss to health care organizations. Investigators reported 86% of nurses in Turkey experienced one or more bullying behaviors within the past 12 months. There is a lack of formal policies and standards, essential for managing such staff behaviors.

This paper disseminates timely information that educates and empowers leaders to take swift action to prevent, mediate, and eliminate bullying in health care organizations. In response to the growing concern for the magnitude of bullying, this paper takes a global look at public strategies to rectify this problem.

Enactment of zero tolerance policies and follow-up counseling for both targets and perpetrators of bullying in health care organizations is required. Despite lack of clear evidence for measuring bullying, the highest level of scientific rigor is needed to produce tangible statistical findings that will drive organizational and legislative authorities to endorse anti-bullying strategies and motivate management to take corrective action grounded in best practice standards.