The process of coping with conflicts as recognized by managers of Public Health Nurses (PHN's) on the job performance

Abstract

Objectives: This study aimed to clarify the process of coping with conflicts as recognized by managers of Public Health Nurses (PHNs) when assessing on-the-job performance.

Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with eight PHN managers from different organizations (e.g., municipalities) and positions. All participants were selected through snowball sampling conducted from December 2017 to March 2018. All resulting data were analyzed according to a qualitative descriptive methodology.

Results: The average number of years of experience of PHNs was 31.5 years and average number of years of experience of PHNs managers was 10.5 years. Of the eight participants, three worked in prefectures, three worked in city ordinance and core city capacities, and two worked in municipalities. Further, two were managers, four were chiefs, and two were chiefs-of-directors. Interviewees discussed a total of 18 job-related events. Among these, the target conflicts were related to eight “PHN,” followed by seven “clerk,” and three “other.” Regarding the positions involved, there were eight “supervisors (top),” four “subordinates,c three “equivalent,” and three “other.” Conflicts were caused by various factors, including reviews of existing work and activity structures, new work, and capacity developmental methods. A category analysis was also conducted based on the actual focuses of conflict recognition and coping. A category analysis based on the actual focuses of conflict recognition and coping revealed that “preparation for conflict recognition and coping” contained 17 subcategories, eight categories, 21 subcategories, 10 categories, three subcategories for “coping behavior for resolving differences,” and two categories were extracted as “coping process management.” Results indicated that PHNs attempted various strategies after recognizing conflicts, including [Clarifying the actual differences of opinion] and [Early corresponding regarding potentially undesired situations]. Attempted conflict resolutions included [Building trust], [Interventions that considered the standpoints of the other party], [Qualifying opportunities], and [Finding compromises]. Additionally, PHNs aimed to alleviate problems by [Establishing a system of progress management］and [Conducting evaluations and providing feedback］.

Conclusion: The interviewed PHNs managers were aware of conflicts between various subjects both in and outside their organizations. These results suggest the importance of effective actions, including direct problem interventions, the elucidation of perceived conflict factors, the careful implementation of preemptive measures, efforts to understand and evaluate progress, and situational feedback.