- Introduction
Working in the health sector has an enhanced risk of experiencing sexual harassment.1 Although evidence suggests a high prevalence of sexual harassment in health care in Germany,2 multicenter studies including nurses are lacking. Consequences of sexual harassment encompass physical, psychological, and work-related problems.3 This cross-sectional, large-scale, multicenter study is the first to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment among physicians and nurses in academic medicine in Germany.
Methods
The study was conducted on a time-delayed basis at the University Hospitals Ulm, Freiburg (March 1 to May 31, 2022), Tübingen (May 20 to August 19, 2022), and Heidelberg (July 13 to October 12, 2022). The anonymous survey was conducted online via Unipark. Recruitment was via email, intranet, flyers, and posters for all employees; only results for physicians and nurses are presented here. Participants provided written informed consent. The survey was approved by theIntroduction
Working in the health sector has an enhanced risk of experiencing sexual harassment.1 Although evidence suggests a high prevalence of sexual harassment in health care in Germany,2 multicenter studies including nurses are lacking. Consequences of sexual harassment encompass physical, psychological, and work-related problems.3 This cross-sectional, large-scale, multicenter study is the first to assess the prevalence of sexual harassment among physicians and nurses in academic medicine in Germany.
Methods
The study was conducted on a time-delayed basis at the University Hospitals Ulm, Freiburg (March 1 to May 31, 2022), Tübingen (May 20 to August 19, 2022), and Heidelberg (July 13 to October 12, 2022). The anonymous survey was conducted online via Unipark. Recruitment was via email, intranet, flyers, and posters for all employees; only results for physicians and nurses are presented here. Participants provided written informed consent. The survey was approved by the Ethics Commission of Ulm University and followed the STROBE reporting guideline.
Participants were asked if they experienced sexual harassment in the workplace in the last 12 months (eAppendix and eTable in Supplement 1).2 With SPSS, version 29.0, χ2 tests and multivariate logistic regressions were performed, assessing gender identity, department (predominantly surgical, minor or no surgical component, research, or administration), gender distribution on the team (1 = only women, 10 = only men), hierarchy (1 = flat hierarchy, 10 = strong hierarchy), leadership position (nurses), medical education status (physicians), and gender of team leader. A 2-sided P < .05 was considered significant.
Results
A total of 1499 of 6333 physicians (23.7%) and 2530 of 11 422 nurses (22.2%) participated in the study; 99 physicians and 155 nurses did not provide information on sexual harassment, and 1 nurse did not provide information on gender. Seven physicians and 9 nurses reported their gender as transgender or nonbinary and could not be included in analyses due to the low number and to ensure anonymity. The final sample included 1403 physicians (56.2% women and 43.8% men) and 2365 nurses (81.0% women and 19.0% men).
Together, 74.2% of female physicians, 51.2% of male physicians, 77.1% of female nurses, and 68.2% of male nurses experienced sexual harassment in the workplace, approximately one-third within the last 12 months (Table 1). More women than men perceived the misconduct as harassing and threatening (physicians, 82.8% vs 61.5%; nurses, 84.9% vs 63.8%; P < .001).…
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