I think it would be a good option to explore this phenomenon with a qualitative research, it could give you some reason why. Here in Chile Nurse by law force must report to authorities.

Segaran,

It is a multifactorial issue.. Here are the most commonly expressed concerns (thoughts and feelings) that I have personally experienced over the past 3 1/2 decades of nursing.

1. Will anyone believe me?

2. Will I be supported or punished by my employer?

3. Will I be targeted for retribution by the family?

4. It is not my responsibility, anyway.

5. What if I'm wrong? Can I suffer legal repercussions?

6. Someone else will step up, so I don't have too.

7. What will my spouse say if I lose my employment?

8. How will I take care of my family?

Without a strong culture of safety, it is easy to see the personal risks associated with standing up.

Although I do not offer a reference list, I hope my shared thoughts and experiences help.

Regards,

Chris

Hi Segaran,

I think a qualitative research study would be the most beneficial. I would incorporate the cultural expectations into the study. Many times, any person superior in rank is viewed as a threat, and for good reasons. I agree with Chris's comments above.

Good luck,

Velma

Unless substantial numbers of these nurses would agree to answer such questions, you can only guess.  My "guess" would be that proof of maltreatment might be difficult to verify, identifying maltreatment might also jeopardize the jobs of reporting nurses, some cases of maltreatment are done by nurses themselves because dealing with certain types of cases can be exasperating, and, despite the "rhetoric" some nurses are more perfunctory then "caring!"

Es una buena pregunta y compleja la respuesta. Según la experiencia en nuestro país la respuesta es que las enfermeras están condicionadas por su educación en una sociedad machista. Además tienen miedo a las represalias del maltratador y manifiestan no sentirse seguras a la hora de manejar estos problemas porque consideran, son más sociales que sanitarios.

That is a good question and complex the answer. According to experience in our country the answer is that nurses are conditioned by their education in a macho society. In addition they are afraid of the reprisals of the abuser and they manifest not to feel safe when handling these problems because they consider, they are more social than sanitary.

 Dear Segaran

As indicated by the others above a qualitative approach would be suitable for exploring this issue and it would make an interesting study. A grounded theory approach could provide you with a theory or two about why this happens. My belief is that if you want to know why something happens, the best solution is to ask the people involved. GT analysis can provide multiple perspectives from the same questions that have been asked. The coding processes within GT can be used to help structure and organised multiple perspectives (Corbin & Strauss). See the methods section on paper on obesity (on research gate) for how I achieved this, when interviewing physicians (GPs) and their patients to gain an understanding into barriers for referring obese patients for exercise.

Hope this helps

Martyn

afraid to separate families

There is an explosion of interest in the concept of "horizontal" or "lateral" violence among nurses.  Many times the fear of retribution, as commented above, and the fear of opening "Pandora's box" of trouble holds nurses back from confronting issues they see.   I congratulate the writers (Christie and Jones) of this article referenced in the attached link to the Online Journal in Nursing; they have well explained the model of trauma, post-trauma and the concept of Nurse as Wounded Healer, to follow in Henri J. Nowen's remarkable shoes.  There are many other citations available that may help you document the existence and causes of aggression and fear within the profession.

http://www.nursingworld.org/MainMenuCategories/ANAMarketplace/ANAPeriodicals/OJIN/TableofContents/Vol-19-2014/No1-Jan-2014/Articles-Previous-Topics/Lateral-Violence-and-Theory-of-Wounded-Healer.html#Theory