Table 1

Characteristics of the study population (n=1973)

Variables	N=1973	Per cent
Gender
Female	1586	80.4
Male	387	19.6
Age (years)
<29	400	20.2
30–39	452	22.9
40–49	705	35.7
>50	416	21.1
Profession
Head nurse/Department head	280	14.2
Nurse	898	45.5
Assistant	217	11.0
Social worker	256	13.0
Trainee	87	4.4
Physician	30	1.5
Other	205	10.4
Setting
General hospital	934	47.3
Outpatient care	194	9.8
Inpatient geriatric care	408	20.7
Facility for people with disabilities	204	10.3
Residential home for people with disabilities	190	9.6
Other	43	2.2
Work experience
<5 years	355	18.1
6–10 years	384	19.6
11–15 years	286	14.6
>15 years	935	47.7
Physical violence during the preceding 12 months
No	864	43.8
Yes	1109	56.2
Verbal aggression during the preceding 12 months
No	438	22.2
Yes	1535	77.8
Training by the institution
Low	686	34.8
Intermediate	667	33.8
Good	538	27.3
Support at work by colleagues
Low	213	13.7
Intermediate	323	20.8
Good	1015	65.4