Iranian Nurses’ Experiences with Sexual Harassment in Workplace: a Qualitative Study

BACKGROUND: Sexual harassment has become a worldwide issue in recent years. Nursing, like other professions, is vulnerable to this type of harm. Sexual harassment impairs nurses’ ability to provide comprehensive care, resulting in psychological discomfort, diminished work commitment, absenteeism, and job termination. The current study was carried out to investigate Iranian nurses’ experiences with sexual harassment in the workplace. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This qualitative study used conventional content analysis with a descriptive exploratory approach to investigate the experiences of Iranian nurses. Between September 2020 and April 2021, we conducted semi-structured and in-depth interviews with 22 employed nurses, recruited via a purposeful method. Age, sex, work experience, degree of education, marital status, and hospital and ward type were observed to acquire rich information. RESULTS: The study’s data produced 354 codes, 1 main category, 5 s categories, and 23 sub categories. The main category of nurses’ sexual harassment in the workplace is divided into five categories: verbal, physical, visual, seduction, and cybersexual harassment. The most and least common types of harassment were verbal and cybersexual harassment, respectively. Nurse harassment was perpetrated by patients and their families, physicians, colleagues, and other hospital personnel. CONCLUSION: According to the findings of this study, the majority of nurses have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace in various forms. Given the negative consequences of workplace harassment, managers and policymakers should develop guidelines in the areas of workplace ethics, legal accountability, and workplace safety. There is also a need to develop training programs for nurses to improve their coping skills. More quantitative and qualitative research in other healthcare groups is needed to confirm the findings of this study.