Psychosocial safety climate, workplace violence and self-rated health: A multi-level study among hospital nurses

Aims: To validate the Chinese version Psychosocial Safety Climate scale (PSC-12), and examine the associations between PSC, workplace violence and self-rated health (SRH). Background: Psychosocial safety climate moderates the negative effect of workplace violence on health. To address workplace violence experienced by nurses across the Asia-Pacific region, it is important to develop and apply a Chinese language version of the tool. Methods: We conducted a two-part study. In the first part, the Chinese version PSC-12 was developed and tested for its validity in 405 nurses. In the second part, a total of 1690 nurses from 73 hospitals filled a questionnaire concerning their work and health conditions. Multi-level modelling was used to examine the association between PSC, workplace violence and SRH. Results: A comparable validity and reliability of the Chinese version PSC-12 with the original PSC was found. PSC scores were negatively associated with workplace violence. In the hierarchical linear model, participants from hospitals with the lowest PSC score had twofold risks of having poor SRH. Conclusions: The Chinese version PSC-12 is a valid tool. Hospital-level PSC was associated with poor health status in female nurses. Implications for Nursing Management: Psychosocial safety climate should be evaluated and promoted to prevent workplace violence in nurses.