Acceso usuarios
Luis Fidel Abregú Tueros, Heydi A. Fernández Rodríguez, Leonor Huamán Camacho
La violencia psicológica en el lugar de trabajo (VPT) es toda conducta violenta de tipo verbal, gestual o actitudinal en contra de un/a trabajador/a o de un grupo laboral específico que afecta su salud mental, social o moral. Dicha violencia, puede ser de amenaza, de intimidación, de aislamiento, de desprestigio o de bloqueo sistemático. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue comparar la visibilidad de la violencia psicológica vertical-horizontal en el lugar de trabajo en un grupo peruano de trabajadores del sector salud. Esta comparación se realizó entre las etapas preprueba y posprueba (posprueba de dos estadios) de un ciclo de “Sensibilización online sobre Violencia Psicológica” (SVP). Participaron voluntaria y anónimamente 41 trabajadores del sector salud en preprueba y 29 en el segundo estadio de posprueba. Los datos se recogieron usando la escala abreviada EVP-salud de 13 ítems con validez y fiabilidad previamente establecidas. Como efecto del ciclo SVP, aumentó la visibilidad de la VPT y apareció como efecto inverso a corto plazo una disminución de la violencia en el grupo de trabajadores. A un mes de haberse aplicado el ciclo SVP, los reportes de VPT frecuente se redujeron del 55.6 % en la preprueba hasta un 37 % en la posprueba, y aumentaron los reportes de ausencia de VPT con un 22.2 % de variación neta. Se identificaron grupos de indicadores de VPT con mayor y menor visibilidad que requieren generación de cambios cognitivos o de cambios simultáneos con intervenciones vivenciales. Se generó una línea base de indicadores de subregistros por omisión de denuncias a corto plazo sobre la VPT en el sector salud.
Psychological workplace violence (PWV) is any violent behaviour of a verbal, gestural, gestural or attitudinal form violence against a worker or a specific work group that affects their mental, social or moral health. This violence can take the form of threats, intimidation, isolation, discredit or systematic blocking. The objective was to compare the visibility of vertical-horizontal psychological violence in the workplace in a Peruvian group of health workers. This comparison was carried out between the pretest and posttest stages (a two-stage posttest) of an “Online Awareness of Psychological Violence” (APV) cycle. A total of 41 health sector workers participated voluntarily and anonymously in the pre-test and 29 in the second post-test stage. Data were collected using the abbreviated 13-item EVP-health scale with previously established validity and reliability. As an effect of the APV cycle, the visibility of PWV increased; there was also a decrease in violence in the group of workers appeared, which constituted a short-term inverse effect. One month after applying the APV cycle, reports of frequent PWV were reduced from 55.6% in the pretest to 37% in the posttest, and reports of absence of PWV increased with a 22.2% net variation. Groups of PWV indicators with greater and lesser visibility were identified as requiring generation of cognitive changes or changes simultaneous with experiential interventions. A baseline of indicators of underreporting short-term complaints about PWV (by omission) was generated for health workers.
The agents of internal PWV can be hierarchically based or a colleague. This form of violence leaves no visible traces, but causes job dissatisfaction that directly affects the professional development of staff. PWV shows no differences between health care groups or between developed and underdeveloped countries, and is attributed, at least in part, to the precariousness of working conditions where the common denominator is psychosocial risk factors. Addressing the issue of occupational health is relevant, as this phenomenon is known for its economic impact on the total costs of illnesses and accidents.
Studies on internal PWV among health professionals at the national level are scarce, and in terms of interventions aimed at reducing PWV and the visibility of complaints, the number of studies is almost non-existent despite their usefulness in guiding institutional or individual interventions and the accompaniment or follow-up of cases. Therefore, in order to improve prevention of PWV it is necessary to implement reporting visibility mechanisms, and so far it is not known whether the effectiveness of virtual courses on PWV content retention issues is equal to or worse than that of face-to-face courses. The development of this study establishes a baseline to propose alternatives to reduce the training gaps through awareness-raising to raise the visibility of PWV in the long term; and in the short term, the study contributes to collecting data that provide knowledge to improve the system for recording complaints, and to provide support for legal and emotional accompaniment of victims.
To meet the objective of the study the online awareness cycle was developed over five days in March 2022 in synchronous-asynchronous modes, orienting the training towards cognitive skills to prevent PWV, promote mental health and give warnings of psychosocial risks at work.
The participation rate was 70.7% up to pre-testing.
The contents developed in the awareness cycle were more directed towards cognitive changes, as simultaneous changes including attitudinal changes, by their nature, require experiential trainings that cannot be easily addressed through an online experience. Future studies could compare the visibility versus inverse effect of PWV from the second to the sixth month of follow-up, extending the study to external physical violence and psychological violence. Similarly, experimental designs could be considered to compare the effectiveness of content with and without experiential training in simultaneously modifying cognitive-attitudinal indicators of PWV in the health sector and in other work sectors.
