Effects of Conflict Management on Nurses and Therapists in Fall Prevention

Abstract

Purpose: Between nurses and therapists, conflicts have been observed regarding the causes of patient falls. This study aimed to clarify the effects of an interventional conflict management program on them.

Methods: One hundred and five nurses and therapists working in convalescence rehabilitation wards underwent interventional management in four different ways, including training workshops, team work, patient assessments using a sharing sheet, and case-study conferences, for 6 months. A self-administered questionnaire survey comprising questions on “cooperativeness,” “conflict types,” “factors contributing to conflicts,” and “strategies to solve conflicts” was conducted before the interventional program and 3 and 6 months after the program to evaluate its effects. The Friedman test and multivariate regression analyses were used to analyze the data.

Results: Seventy-one nurses and therapists who completed all questionnaire surveys administered at the aforementioned 3 timepoints were included in the analysis (valid response rate of 85.5%). Significant increases were noted in the “strategies to solve conflicts” scores at 3 (p=0.013) and 6 months (p=0.004) after the interventions.

Conclusion: Nurses and therapists found causes of conflicts after conflict management, and they altered their behaviors to resolve disagreements.