Prevalence of Workplace Conflicts and the Used Coping Strategies Among Nurses in Teaching Hospitals in Qom City, Iran: A Cross-sectional Study

Conflicts arise when a person or group perceives that another person or group opposes their interests, beliefs, and values. Although conflict usually carries a negative sense, it may be productive for nurses, their colleagues, or patients in clinical settings.

This study aims to determine the prevalence of workplace conflict and the coping strategies used by nurses working in teaching hospitals in Qom City, Iran.

This is a descriptive-analytical study with a cross-sectional design. Study participants comprised 373 nurses in teaching hospitals affiliated with Qom University of Medical Sciences. They were selected using simple random sampling. Data collection tools were a demographic form, DuBrin workplace conflict questionnaire, and Putnam and Wilson’s organizational communication conflict instrument (OCCI). The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive statistics, the chi-square test, Fisher’s exact test, and a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and multivariate linear regression model.

Most participants were female (63.8%) with a bachelor’s degree (88.3%). Their mean age was 34.78±5.96 years. The mean score of workplace conflicts was 10.04±3.93 and the mean score of the control strategy was significantly higher in nurses with a high level of workplace conflict (24.90±3.75). The multivariate regression results revealed that age, sex, marital status, educational level, type of employment, department of service, work experience, and three conflict resolution strategies could predict 32% of workplace conflict (adjusted R2=0.32, P=0.001).

Workplace conflict among nurses of hospitals in Qom is high. They mostly use the solution-orientated strategy followed by non-confrontation and control strategies.