This time, I would like to talk about sexual harassment suffered by medical professionals.
When a medical professional sexually harasses a patient, the information is reported in the press, but do you know that the opposite is happening?
However, did you know that the opposite is also true? In recent years, more and more women are working as medical professionals, and we would like to introduce you to a study on sexual harassment by patients.
Outline
According to a report by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, sexual harassment in the healthcare-related workplace includes the following incidents
Unwelcome sexual advances
Requests for sexual favors.
These can affect work performance and employment status, and create an inappropriate and hostile work environment.
With the #MeToo movement, the serious consequences for the mental and physical health of those affected by this are now widely recognized.
The #MeToo movement has infiltrated the medical industry and is helping to expose the alarmingly high rates of sexual harassment that are occurring.
According to a recent survey, 70 percent of physicians in academic medical centers reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment.
And female physicians were found to be significantly more likely than male physicians to experience this.Few studies have examined the prevalence of sexual harassment of health care professionals by patients, but preliminary research suggests that it may be significant.
Research studies
According to the aforementioned study, 1/3 of female physicians reported experiencing sexual harassment by patients.
Another study suggests that sexual harassment by patients may be more prevalent than sexual harassment by colleagues in the medical field.
A 2018 Medscape study surveyed 6235 healthcare professionals and found that 27% of physicians were sexually harassed by patients, while only 7% were sexually harassed by clinicians, healthcare professionals, or workplace managers.
Furthermore, although dermatology was allegedly the specialty with the highest rate of sexual harassment, 46% of dermatologists reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment by a patient within the past year.
Based on the observations from the study and individual experiences, we hypothesized that sexual harassment by patients in dermatology practices may affect female physicians more than male physicians and may be associated with burnout and turnover.
To investigate this hypothesis, we conducted an informal, anonymous electronic survey in the Department of Dermatology at the University of Washington.
The survey had a high response rate (70%), with 34 respondents, including residents.Of these, 55.9% were female and 44.1% were male.
Sexual harassment of health care workers by patients was found to be a gender-neutral event, with 67% of the respondents reporting having experienced such an incident.
Female health care workers experienced more sexual harassment by patients, with 84% of female health care workers reporting experiencing some form of sexual harassment compared to 40% of male health care workers.
The sexual harassment behaviors reported included
Comments about physical appearance (85%)
Questions about marital status (59%)
Jokes or stories of a sexual nature (35%)
Questions about dates (11%)
It was reported that
What's more, most female health care workers reported experiencing sexual harassment by a patient on more than one occasion, with 42% reporting 4 to 10 experiences and 37% reporting 11 to 50 experiences.
Outpatient clinics at the Department of Veterans Affairs were found to have the highest frequency of sexual harassment by patients, followed by outpatient academic clinics.
Sexual harassment experienced in the workplace has a negative impact on careers, causing job changes and financial stress.
According to the cohort study, 21 percent of female health care workers reported experiencing burnout due to sexual harassment by patients, compared to male health care workers.
In a study of the impact on careers, 16% of female health care workers changed departments or jobs because of sexual harassment by patients, and 37% of female health care workers changed patient assignments because of sexual harassment.
Male health care workers did not report taking any action due to sexual harassment.
These are some aspects of medical practice that have been identified as environmental factors for sexual harassment by all health care workers
One-on-one contact in a closed room
Differences in the relationship between medical professionals and patients (differences in positions)
The concept that healthcare is a service industry.
Sexual harassment is more likely to occur due to these factors.
Factors that tend to occur in dermatology include
Undressing required for skin examination
Physical contact during the examination
It is hypothesized that medical personnel may be more susceptible to sexual harassment.
Furthermore, in the current environment where young women are advancing, the risk of sexual harassment may become particularly high.
Considerations and countermeasures
There are difficult aspects of dealing with sexual harassment that must be addressed in order to maintain the relationship between patients and healthcare professionals.
However, reducing sexual harassment should be an industry-wide goal.
There are several prevention methods that can be considered.
One is to try to avoid one-on-one environments.
Medical assistants, scribes, etc. can be placed in the exam room to change the perception of one-on-one intimacy.
As a precaution, it is advisable that medical personnel should not be present when the patient changes into or out of examination attire.
Second, when sexual harassment occurs, either the harassed health care worker or a witness who is present should take action on the spot.
While it is considered important to have witnesses present to protect the person who is being victimized, what is important is that the witnesses take action.
If you can change your behavior in business-like phrases when you are being victimized, it can be addressed and may be helpful.
Secondly, if the harassment still does not stop, to make it clear that you are the perpetrator, you can issue a warning with a direct phrase such as, "Please don't touch me, it's sexual harassment. If this does not stop the harassment, warn the patient with a direct phrase such as, "I don't want you to touch me, that is sexual harassment.
Third, talk about and report any sexual harassment you receive from patients.
Talking and reporting early in the incident can be a powerful way to reduce the impact of these things, reduce the victim's shame, and help change the culture of sexual harassment.
When a bystander witnesses an incident, acknowledging that the victim also has witnesses can validate the incident, and reporting it to the agency head or administrator can be a mechanism to provide support and information sharing.
Finally, sexual harassment received from a patient may need to be documented in the medical record.
Notaro E, Pascoe V, Shinohara MM, DeNiro K. Sexual harassment from patient to provider. Int J Womens Dermatol. 2019;6(1):30-31. Published 2019 Sep 10. doi:10.1016/j.ijwd.2019.09.001
Conclusion
This study shows that among health care professionals, female dermatologists may be the most vulnerable.
Furthermore, sexual harassment may lead to burnout and career dissatisfaction, which may act as a barrier to career development and job satisfaction.
What we have learned from this survey may not be equally true for all departments and medical institutions, but preventive measures can be taken everywhere.
I also believe that these frequent problems start with knowing that there is a problem.
