Conflict management and perceived team cohesion of nurses in university hospitals

Objective Team cohesion is an essential component in a multidisciplinary team and can inspire the team to perform creative and complex works.This descriptive correlational study aimed to determine the styles of conflict management,levels of team cohesion,and the relationship between each style of conflict management and perceived team cohesion among nurses at affiliated hospitals of Dali University.Methods The sample consisted of 336 nurses from two university hospitals in Yunnan province,selected using the proportionate sampling method.Research instruments included demographic data form,Dutch Test for Conflict Handling(DUTCH)and Group Cohesion Scale.The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient for the five subscales of DUTCH were the following:forcing(0.83),yielding(0.81),avoiding(0.88),problem-solving(0.85),and compromising(0.84).The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of Group Cohesion Scale was 0.83.Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Spearman’s rank-order correlations.Results The results of this study revealed that nurses were most likely to use avoiding conflict management style to deal with conflict situations,followed in rank order by problem-solving,compromising,forcing and yielding conflict management style.Nurses perceived team cohesion at a moderate level(x=4.43,SD=2.01).Additionally,conflict management associated with team cohesion.Conclusion The study findings revealed that avoiding was the conflict management style most frequently utilized by nurses,and nurses perceived team cohesion was at a moderate level.It is required to identify various strategies to improve team cohesion in multidisciplinary teams and develop a support system for nurses.