Mistreatment between nurses is linked with patient safety concerns
Research on nurses linked repeated mistreatment by colleagues with patient safety. The review found that overlapping definitions made different forms of peer violence difficult to distinguish, limiting interpretation of the evidence.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
Most studies included in this review reported a link between mistreatment among nursing colleagues and patient safety. The authors grouped overlapping forms of mistreatment under peer violence. This identifies a recurring concern in the literature, but the abstract does not show how much patient risk changes or establish that peer violence causes particular safety events.
Definitions differed across studies, and the abstract provides no pooled risk estimate, patient-event counts or details of the underlying study designs. It therefore cannot quantify the association or establish its causal direction.
What peer violence covers
The review describes repeated physical, mental or emotional mistreatment by coworkers, including verbal and nonverbal abuse. Examples include humiliation, exclusion and sabotage. Its focus is relationships among nursing colleagues and their connection with patient safety.
Why definitions matter
The authors had difficulty separating horizontal violence from lateral violence and suggested treating both as peer violence. That overlap matters when interpreting the review: its conclusion concerns a broad grouping of mistreatment among colleagues.
The original publication
Implications of Nursing Peer Violence on Patient Safety: An Integrative Review.
Fujii C, Iwasa Y
Int Nurs Rev · 2025
- PubMed ID
- 40607599
- Record checked
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