Sexual harassment towards nurses in their working environment; patients as the perpetrators
Bruen, Jessica (2017)
Bruen, Jessica
Yrkeshögskolan Arcada
2017
All rights reserved
Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017120720215
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-2017120720215
Tiivistelmä
This literature review will discuss the definition of sexual harassment, the prevalence of sexual harassment in the health care environment, reactions, responses and coping strategies seen in nurses after harassment incidents. The aim of this study is to raise awareness of the growing and invisible issue of sexual harassment towards nurses. This paper will furthermore explore the gaps that are seen today at the work place regarding sexual harassment, and discuss different strategies and preventive measures that could be implemented at the workplace and educational programs of nurses, to aid nurses, managers and care workers to build a safer working environment for both themselves and their patients in the future.
The research questions in this study are: 1) What is sexual harassment and what propagates sexual harassment in the workplace? 2) How do nurses react and cope with sexual harassment? 3) What are the different problems that arise from sexual harassment towards nurses?
Scientific articles were obtained only through Arcada’s academic databases and Google scholar - Cinahl, Pubmed and Sage journals to ensure the validity of the articles. The main search terms used were: prevention OR intervention OR strategies OR solutions AND sexual harassment AND nurses. The theory chosen to support this paper is the coping theory by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). A qualitative literature review was conducted, the reasoning for the choice being time restraints, resources, and the difficulty of an ethical approval being granted for conducting a primary research study on the specific subject. The content was profusely and carefully analysed and coded, with an inductive analysis approach. The codes were developed and structured to answer the research questions and to make the result chapter easier to comprehend and follow. The results show that sexual harassment is an important and big issue in the healthcare sector. There is a need to make sexual harassment more visible and openly spoken about. There is also a need for education regarding both sexual harassment and sexual behavior seen in patients, both in the nursing education system and at the workplace. The importance of building a better reputation for nurses and making policies more accessible and usable for employees should be sought after.
The research questions in this study are: 1) What is sexual harassment and what propagates sexual harassment in the workplace? 2) How do nurses react and cope with sexual harassment? 3) What are the different problems that arise from sexual harassment towards nurses?
Scientific articles were obtained only through Arcada’s academic databases and Google scholar - Cinahl, Pubmed and Sage journals to ensure the validity of the articles. The main search terms used were: prevention OR intervention OR strategies OR solutions AND sexual harassment AND nurses. The theory chosen to support this paper is the coping theory by Lazarus and Folkman (1984). A qualitative literature review was conducted, the reasoning for the choice being time restraints, resources, and the difficulty of an ethical approval being granted for conducting a primary research study on the specific subject. The content was profusely and carefully analysed and coded, with an inductive analysis approach. The codes were developed and structured to answer the research questions and to make the result chapter easier to comprehend and follow. The results show that sexual harassment is an important and big issue in the healthcare sector. There is a need to make sexual harassment more visible and openly spoken about. There is also a need for education regarding both sexual harassment and sexual behavior seen in patients, both in the nursing education system and at the workplace. The importance of building a better reputation for nurses and making policies more accessible and usable for employees should be sought after.