Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study
Abstract Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sexual harassment among operating room nurses, and to analyze the influencing factors. Background Sexual harassment in the healthcare field has a high incidence and nurses are the main victims; sexual harassment not only le...
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2024-12-01
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| Series: | BMC Nursing |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02606-4 |
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| author | Lingyu Tang Xingli Yu Yanshu Liu Jie Zhou Daiying Zhang Juan Wang Qingyan Liu |
| author_facet | Lingyu Tang Xingli Yu Yanshu Liu Jie Zhou Daiying Zhang Juan Wang Qingyan Liu |
| author_sort | Lingyu Tang |
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| description | Abstract Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sexual harassment among operating room nurses, and to analyze the influencing factors. Background Sexual harassment in the healthcare field has a high incidence and nurses are the main victims; sexual harassment not only leads to physical and mental problems, but also undermines nurses’ performance and affects the quality of medical care. Methods A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey to investigate the sexual harassment experiences of 483 operating room nurses. The survey included demographic information, personality traits (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), sexual harassment experiences (Workplace Sexual Harassment Questionnaire), negative consequences, coping strategies, and social support status. Results 63% of operating room nurses experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months, with gender harassment predominating (56.7%), followed by unwanted sexual attention (28.6%) and sexual coercion (13.6%). Surgeons (81.20%) and married ones (66.7%) were the most common perpetrators. Most victims possess limited knowledge regarding sexual harassment laws and exhibit weak awareness of their rights protection. 47.8% remained silent after being sexually harassed; most of nurse employed passive coping strategies. Sexual harassment had the most prominent impact on the work of operating room nurses, mainly in the form of decreased work quality and efficiency (87.3%), as well as decreased work engagement (77.0%) and negative workplace pressure experience (72.2%); emotional disturbances, such as anxiety (76.6%), stigma (71.8%), and fear (71.5%); and was accompanied by sleep disorders (74.9%), headaches (56.0%) and nausea and vomiting (54.3%); as well as reduced trust in the opposite sex (83.8%) and disruption of family life (82.1%).Only 39.2% of the hospitals had sexual harassment reporting channels or methods, 30.7% had departments to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace, and 46.8% had communication discussions about psychological safety after sexual harassment. Personality traits, drinking behaviour, age, marriage, and social support were associated with sexual harassment behavior in the operating room. Conclusion The high incidence of sexual harassment in the operating room affects nurses’ productivity and physical and mental health. Operating room nurses had insufficient legal knowledge about sexual harassment and lacked hospital organizational support. agreeableness and openness personality traits, alcohol consumption, age, being married, and lack of social support were influential factors of sexual harassment in the operating room. Implications for nursing management Healthcare organizations should encourage reporting, care for victims, and join with the police department, judiciary, and women’s federation to develop reporting procedures and training programs on sexual harassment knowledge to create a safe and comfortable professional environment. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-b162b1d7d5e44a8abc5ec5b881a3e922 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1472-6955 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | BMC |
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| series | BMC Nursing |
| spelling | doaj-art-b162b1d7d5e44a8abc5ec5b881a3e9222024-12-29T12:14:50ZengBMCBMC Nursing1472-69552024-12-0123111510.1186/s12912-024-02606-4Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional studyLingyu Tang0Xingli Yu1Yanshu Liu2Jie Zhou3Daiying Zhang4Juan Wang5Qingyan Liu6Department of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityDepartment of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityDepartment of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityNeurosurgery, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityDepartment of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityDepartment of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityDepartment of Operating Room, Affiliated Hospital of Southwest Medical UniversityAbstract Aims The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence of sexual harassment among operating room nurses, and to analyze the influencing factors. Background Sexual harassment in the healthcare field has a high incidence and nurses are the main victims; sexual harassment not only leads to physical and mental problems, but also undermines nurses’ performance and affects the quality of medical care. Methods A multi-center cross-sectional study was conducted using an online survey to investigate the sexual harassment experiences of 483 operating room nurses. The survey included demographic information, personality traits (Ten-Item Personality Inventory), sexual harassment experiences (Workplace Sexual Harassment Questionnaire), negative consequences, coping strategies, and social support status. Results 63% of operating room nurses experienced sexual harassment in the past 12 months, with gender harassment predominating (56.7%), followed by unwanted sexual attention (28.6%) and sexual coercion (13.6%). Surgeons (81.20%) and married ones (66.7%) were the most common perpetrators. Most victims possess limited knowledge regarding sexual harassment laws and exhibit weak awareness of their rights protection. 47.8% remained silent after being sexually harassed; most of nurse employed passive coping strategies. Sexual harassment had the most prominent impact on the work of operating room nurses, mainly in the form of decreased work quality and efficiency (87.3%), as well as decreased work engagement (77.0%) and negative workplace pressure experience (72.2%); emotional disturbances, such as anxiety (76.6%), stigma (71.8%), and fear (71.5%); and was accompanied by sleep disorders (74.9%), headaches (56.0%) and nausea and vomiting (54.3%); as well as reduced trust in the opposite sex (83.8%) and disruption of family life (82.1%).Only 39.2% of the hospitals had sexual harassment reporting channels or methods, 30.7% had departments to deal with sexual harassment in the workplace, and 46.8% had communication discussions about psychological safety after sexual harassment. Personality traits, drinking behaviour, age, marriage, and social support were associated with sexual harassment behavior in the operating room. Conclusion The high incidence of sexual harassment in the operating room affects nurses’ productivity and physical and mental health. Operating room nurses had insufficient legal knowledge about sexual harassment and lacked hospital organizational support. agreeableness and openness personality traits, alcohol consumption, age, being married, and lack of social support were influential factors of sexual harassment in the operating room. Implications for nursing management Healthcare organizations should encourage reporting, care for victims, and join with the police department, judiciary, and women’s federation to develop reporting procedures and training programs on sexual harassment knowledge to create a safe and comfortable professional environment.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02606-4WorkplaceOperating roomSexual harassmentnurses |
| spellingShingle | Lingyu Tang Xingli Yu Yanshu Liu Jie Zhou Daiying Zhang Juan Wang Qingyan Liu Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study BMC Nursing Workplace Operating room Sexual harassment nurses |
| title | Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses: a multi-center cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | current status and factors associated with sexual harassment among operating room nurses a multi center cross sectional study |
| topic | Workplace Operating room Sexual harassment nurses |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-024-02606-4 |
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