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Bullying in the Workplace, Gender Inequality: Challenges for the Quality...
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Bullying in the Workplace, Gender Inequality: Challenges for the Quality and Safety of Health Care

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Healthcare Quality and Patient Safety".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 20 May 2026 | Viewed by 2378

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Pedro Bernardes Lucas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
2. Nursing Administration Department, Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: nursing administration research; work environment; outcomes assessment; management; change management; organizational innovation; turnover; quality of nursing care; job satisfaction; patient safety; workload
Dr. Patricia Costa

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
2. Nursing Administration Department, Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
3. Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa Francisco Gentil (IPO Lisboa), General Surgery and Gastroenterology Department, 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: team effectiveness; virtual teams and virtuality; implications of technology at work; health and well-being at work
Dr. Maria Filomena Mendes Gaspar

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
1. Nursing Research, Innovation and Development Centre of Lisbon (CIDNUR), Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
2. Nursing Administration Department, Nursing School of Lisbon (ESEL), 1990-096 Lisbon, Portugal
Interests: nursing administration research; work environment; outcomes assessment; management; change management; organizational innovation; turnover; quality of nursing care; job satisfaction; patient safety; workload
Dr. César Fonseca

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Nursing, University of Évora, 7000-811 Évora, Portugal
Interests: ageing; rehabilitation; nursing research; nursing care
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In contemporary societies, phenomena such as bullying (often silent and insidious, promoting toxic environments) and gender inequality (often associated with persistent stereotypes) have been increasingly highlighted for the profound implications they can have on the functioning of organizations (by compromising the mental health of employees, as well as organizational effectiveness and efficiency), justifying the need and urgency to think and reflect on these issues.

These factors condition working environments that are intended to be healthy. Healthy environments are fundamental to the success of any organization, as they have a direct influence on productivity, satisfaction and staff retention. In the context of healthcare organizations, this importance is even more pronounced, since a positive working environment has a direct impact on the quality of care provided to patients. Studies show that healthcare professionals who work in positive environments provide safer, higher quality care (with fewer adverse effects, particularly in terms of medication errors, falls and healthcare-associated infections) and are associated with higher levels of patient satisfaction.

With this in mind, we are pleased to invite you to contribute articles to this Special Issue, which aims to address these critically important issues.

The aim of this Special Issue is to explore and analyze the impact of workplace bullying and gender inequality on work environments and the implications they have for promoting healthy environments, which condition the quality and safety of healthcare.

In this Special Issue, original research articles and reviews are welcome. Research areas may include (but not limited to) the following:

  • Impact of a positive work environment on the quality of healthcare provided;
  • Strategies for preventing and combating workplace bullying in healthcare organizations;
  • Analysis of gender inequality and its consequences for professional practice in healthcare;
  • Interventions to improve mental health and the well-being of health

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Prof. Dr. Pedro Bernardes Lucas
Dr. Patricia Costa
Dr. Maria Filomena Mendes Gaspar
Dr. César Fonseca
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • workplace bullying
  • work environment
  • workplace violence
  • bullying
  • gender inequality
  • gender discrimination
  • mental health
  • quality of health care
  • patient safety
  • workplace safety
  • health workforce

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 1217 KiB  
Article
Validity and Reliability Study of the Workplace Violence Scale in Healthcare (TYPE 2 Violence) in Turkish
by Elif Yöyen and Tülay Güneri Barış
Healthcare 2025, 13(7), 729; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13070729 - 25 Mar 2025
Viewed by 379
Abstract
Background: Workplace violence refers to acts that occur inside or outside the workplace, ranging from verbal harassment, bullying, threats and physical assaults against workers to homicide. Workplace violence in health care settings is an incident involving verbal, physical or sexual assault against healthcare [...] Read more.
Background: Workplace violence refers to acts that occur inside or outside the workplace, ranging from verbal harassment, bullying, threats and physical assaults against workers to homicide. Workplace violence in health care settings is an incident involving verbal, physical or sexual assault against healthcare workers by patients, their relatives or others that poses a threat to healthcare workers. Violence in healthcare settings is a significant public health problem, not only for the victims of violence, but also for society because of its direct and indirect, short and long-term effects. Objectives: The aim of this study is to adapt the Workplace Violence Scale in Healthcare to Turkish, to conduct validity and reliability studies, and to determine its psychometric properties in order to overcome the problems faced by health policy makers in assessing workplace violence and to ensure that they implement appropriate interventions. Methods: In the research in which 191 healthcare workers were included in the pilot study and 627 healthcare workers in the main sample, data were collected using the Sociodemographic Data Form and the Workplace Violence Scale in Healthcare. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 25.0 programs were used to analyse the data. In the scale validity and reliability study stage, Explanatory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis methods were used after the language and content validity analyses. Results: The Cronbach alpha coefficient of the scale was found to be 0.946, and it was observed that the CR values of the scale consisting of five subdimensions and 37 items were over 0.70 and the AVE values were over 0.50. At the same time, in order to reveal the stability of the scale over time, the test-retest method was applied, and it was seen that the correlation coefficients obtained were 0.97 for the whole scale and between 0.80 and 0.94 for its subdimensions, indicating an excellent level of reliability. Conclusions: As a result of this study, it was accepted that the Workplace Violence Scale in Healthcare, developed with five subdimensions (frequency of workplace violence, impact of workplace violence on the individual, reasons for not reporting workplace violence legally, risk factors increasing workplace violence and workplace violence prevention strategies) and 37 items, can be used as a comprehensive and standard measurement tool that evaluates to measure workplace violence in healthcare settings. With this scale, future studies will be able to determine the type of violence (physical/verbal) that patients and their relatives use against healthcare professionals, how often healthcare professionals are exposed to violence, and how they, their families and social circles are affected physically and psychologically by the violence they experience (psychologically and socially). In addition, the results from the sections of the scale that ask about the risk factors for violence, the reasons why violence is not legally reported, and the practices used to prevent violence can guide health and legal policy makers. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bullying in the Workplace, Gender Inequality: Challenges for the Quality and Safety of Health Care)
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16 pages, 698 KiB  
Article
Cultural Competence and Nursing Work Environment: Impact on Culturally Congruent Care in Portuguese Multicultural Healthcare Units
by Gisela Teixeira, Ricardo Picoito, Filomena Gaspar and Pedro Lucas
Healthcare 2024, 12(23), 2430; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12232430 - 3 Dec 2024
Viewed by 1560
Abstract
Background: Cultural competence is central to ensuring effective culturally congruent care to patients and fostering positive work environments, particularly in multicultural settings. Objective: This study aimed to analyse the relationship between cultural competence, the nursing work environment, and the delivery of culturally congruent [...] Read more.
Background: Cultural competence is central to ensuring effective culturally congruent care to patients and fostering positive work environments, particularly in multicultural settings. Objective: This study aimed to analyse the relationship between cultural competence, the nursing work environment, and the delivery of culturally congruent care in multicultural units of a healthcare organisation in Portugal. Method: This was a quantitative, descriptive, and cross-sectional study, targeting nurses from multicultural units. Data were collected using both online and paper-based questionnaires, which included the Cultural Competence Questionnaire for Help Professionals, the Nursing Work Index—Revised Scale (NWI-R-PT), and a single question assessing nurses’ perceptions of the adequacy of the culturally congruent care they provide. Results: A moderate, positive correlation was identified between cultural competence and the Fundamentals for Nursing, while the nursing work environment was influenced by organisational support, professional category, and unit type. Discussion: The findings suggest that enhancing cultural knowledge and technical skills and reinforcing management support may positively impact culturally congruent care delivery in multicultural settings. Conclusion: This study contributes to nursing knowledge by highlighting the complex interactions between cultural competence and the work environment in Portuguese multicultural healthcare units. Future research should explore the impact of transcultural nursing leadership on multicultural work environments and in the delivery of culturally congruent care. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Bullying in the Workplace, Gender Inequality: Challenges for the Quality and Safety of Health Care)
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