The mediating role of workplace deviant behavior among nurses in the relationship between organizational justice and privacy protection

Introduction: The violation of patients’ privacy in psychiatric hospitals by nurses can seriously harm them. Therefore, the present study aimed to examine the relationship between organizational justice and violation of patients’ privacy with regard to the deviant behavior of nurses in psychiatric hospitals in Isfahan, Iran.   Methods: The present research is an applicable descriptive-correlational study. The study population was consisted of 448 nurses employed in the psychiatric hospitals of Isfahan city in 2018, out of which 234 subjects were enrolled in this study by stratified sampling method using Morgan Table. Data collection was carried out by the use of standard questionnaires for the organizational justice; privacy protection and deviant behavior. The reliability of the tools was assessed by Cronbach's alpha coefficient, while their validity was calculated through formal, content and structural validity using SamrtPLS. Results: Our results showed that organizational justice had significant correlations with deviant behavior and privacy protection (P< 0.01), while no relationship was observed between deviant behavior and privacy protection. Conclusion: The findings of this study imply that organizational justice should be considered for reducing deviant behaviour among nurses and improving privacy protection.