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The Effect of an Awareness and Cognitive Rehearsal Program on Workplace Bullying Among Emergency Department Nurses
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Behzad Ghasemi1   , Frahnaz Farnia1 , Mohammad ali Mirjalili ebrahim abad1 , Khadijeh Nasirian * |
1- Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran
Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran & Shahid Sadoughi, Shahid Sadoughi University of Medical Sciences, Yazd, Iran , nasiriani@gmail.com |
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Abstract: (14 Views) |
Background:Workplace bullying is an important psychosocial occupational hazard in hospital settings that can adversely affect employees’ well-being, professional relationships, and organizational performance. Emergency department nurses are particularly vulnerable to bullying due to high work demands, complex interpersonal interactions, and hierarchical workplace structures. Awareness-based education and cognitive rehearsal are suggested approaches to improving nurses’ ability to recognize and respond appropriately to bullying behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effect of an awareness and cognitive rehearsal program on workplace bullying among emergency department nurses.
Methods:This quasi-experimental study employed a pretest–posttest design with a control group. A total of 80 emergency department nurses were recruited using convenience sampling. The hospitals were randomly allocated to the intervention and control groups, with 40 nurses in each group. The intervention consisted of three four-hour sessions (12 hours in total), including awareness-based education and cognitive rehearsal using seven workplace bullying scenarios and role-playing exercises. The control group received no educational intervention during the study period. Data were collected before the intervention and two months afterward using the 27-item Hospital Workplace Bullying Questionnaire developed by Golparvar et al. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent and paired t-tests, and chi-square or Fisher’s exact tests in SPSS version 22.
Results: Before the intervention, the mean total workplace bullying scores in the intervention and control groups were 48.90 ± 13.73 and 46.63 ± 17.03, respectively, with no statistically significant difference between the groups (P = 0.51). Two months after the intervention, the mean score decreased to 36.50 ± 4.06 in the intervention group, whereas it was 46.38 ± 16.80 in the control group. The difference between the groups at posttest was statistically significant (P = 0.001). A significant reduction in the workplace bullying score was also observed within the intervention group (P < 0.001), while no significant change was found in the control group (P = 0.54).
Conclusion:The awareness and cognitive rehearsal program was associated with a significant reduction in self-reported workplace bullying scores among emergency department nurses. This educational approach may be considered a strategy for empowering nurses to recognize and respond professionally to workplace bullying behaviors. However, given the methodological limitations of the study, particularly the inclusion of only one hospital in each group, the findings should be interpreted cautiously, and the observed changes cannot be conclusively attributed to the intervention.
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| Keywords: Workplace bullying, Emergency, nurses, Awareness, Cognitive rehearsal, Educational intervention, Hospital |
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Type of Study: Research |
Subject:
General
Received: 2026/Oct/Sat | Accepted: 2026/Nov/Mon | Published: 2025/Oct/Thu
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