Evaluation of the disruptive behaviors among treatment teams and its reflection on the therapy process of patients in the operating room: The impact of personal conflicts

Understanding the development and distribution of disruptive behaviour among members of a health‑care team is critical to the safety and quality of patient care in high‑risk environments such as operating rooms. The present study identified disruptive behaviour and its effect on the treatment of patients in the operating room environment.

This cross‑sectional study used the convenience sampling method to select 144 operating room physicians and nurses (91 women and 53 men). The study was conducted in the operating rooms of four academic hospitals with different specialties in North Khorasan province in Iran from December 2013 to September 2014. The data were collected using a translated, modified, and validated questionnaire to investigate the prevalence and consequences of disruptive behaviour, the response of the health care system to the behaviour, factors affecting the creation of conflict and the spread of disruptive behaviour. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SPSS 18.

Disruptive behaviour was reported by 82.95% physicians and nurses. On average, 39% of physicians and 21% of operating room nurses exhibited disruptive behaviour. Disruptive behaviour is associated with psychological and clinical consequences. Factors such as fear of retaliation (8%), lack of change (43.8%), lack of security (18.1%) and attitude of the organization (14.6%) are significant reasons for the failure to report these behaviours.

The findings suggest that disruptive behaviour occurs and affects treatment and workflow of treatment teams in the operating room. Interpersonal conflict contributes to the growth of such behaviour; thus, more research should focus on this subject in the future.