Experiences of Conflicts and Conflict Management Styles among Healthcare Professionals: Do Conflict’s Perception and Attitude Matter?
Abstract
The healthcare industry is complex, heterogeneous in terms of staff composition, but few studies exist on how these complexities influence the perceptions and vulnerability of the healthcare team to conflict. This study examined healthcare professionals’ perceptions and attitude to conflict, as well as their experiences of conflict in their day-to-day interaction within the context of teamwork environment. The study adopted a concurrent mixed method design that consisted of structured questionnaire and face-to-face interviews. The study was conducted among six categories of health workers (nurses, doctors, pharmacists, physiotherapists, laboratory scientists, and medical records officers) at the Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex (OAUTHC), Ile-Ife. A multi-stage sampling technique
was employed to select 150 health professionals for the survey. Six in-depth interviews were also conducted with senior health professionals currently occupying administrative positions at the hospital. The quantitative results showed that certain health occupations/professions are more conflict prone than others. Analysis of the health professionals’ responses to statements assessing attitude to conflict showed that a majority (77.3%) had positive attitude. There was a significant relationship between occupation/specialty and frequency of occurrence of conflict among the healthcare professionals (F = 3.54; P < 0.05). No significant relationship was found between gender and the occurrence of conflict among the professionals (F = 0.66; P > 0.05). However, the qualitative findings inter alia linked conflicts with high handedness, unhealthy rivalry, overzealousness and stepping out of job descriptions by some individuals. In conclusion, the study noted that conflict is a regular occurrence among healthcare professionals. Concerted efforts are therefore required to improve team cohesion and maximize the gains of multidisciplinary health team in the Nigerian health sector.
