Roles of doctor–patient relationship perception and job satisfaction in the impact of workplace violence on medical professionals’ turnover intentions in the early phase of COVID-19: a cross-sectional study in China

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore the role of the doctor–patient relationship (DPR) perception from the perspective of medical professionals in the association between workplace violence (WPV), job satisfaction and turnover intention in the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic based on the affective events theory (AET). DESIGN: A cross-sectional study. SETTING: Nine medical institutions in Beijing were enrolled in this study. PARTICIPANTS: In total, 792 medical professionals participated in the study, excluding administrators and logisticians. RESULTS: The structural equation model was well adapted (comparative fit index (CFI) = 0.933; root mean square error of approximation (RMSEA) = 0.060). DPR mediated the association between WPV and job satisfaction, with an indirect effect of 0.247 (p<0.001). DPR perception mediated the effect of WPV on turnover intention, with an indirect effect of 0.090 (p<0.001). It also played a chain-mediating role in job satisfaction between WPV and turnover intention, with a mediation value of 0.117 (p<0.001), accounting for 53.42% of the total effect. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed a stable model using AET. DPR perception plays an important role in the relationship between WPV and job satisfaction and turnover intention, suggesting the key impact of emotional factors. This has strong practical implications for maintaining the stability of medical teams. Therefore, medical institutions should improve the level of DPR perception from the perspective of medical professionals to effectively prevent mental health problems following WPV.