Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 11, 2025

A Quantitative Sensory Testing Paradigm to Obtain Measures of Pain Processing in Patients Undergoing Breast Cancer Surgery
Published on: January 18, 2018
Nursing students' experiences of sexual harassment - A qualitative study from feminist identity perspective
Aimei Mao1, Pak-Leng Cheong1, Hon-Lon Tam2
1Kiang Wu Nursing College of Macau, Avenida do Hospital das Ilhas no.447, RAEM, Coloane, Macau, China.
Aim:
To explore experiences of sexual harassment among nursing students in an East Asian region and to gain knowledge of the underlying factors influencing nursing students' conceptualization of and response to sexual harassment.
Background:
Nursing students are susceptible to sexual harassment due to gender and power inequality in healthcare systems. Sexual harassment has an adverse impact on the students' physical and mental health. Studies on sexual harassment among nursing students are limited and reported significantly varied occurrence prevalence in different cultures. Feminist identity theory can provide a framework to examine social-culturally constructed perceptions of sexual harassment.
Design:
A qualitative descriptive study.
Methods:
The study was conducted in Macau, a Special Administrative Region of China. Purposive sampling was applied. Twenty-six nursing students and five nursing educators participated in the study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the interview data. A series of measures were applied to enhance the trustworthiness of the study.
Results:
While most of the students had not experienced or heard of sexual harassment, a limited number claimed sexual harassment as a frequently encountered instance. The students expressed uncertainty about what constituted sexual harassment, mainly due to a lack of exposure to information on sexual harassment. They were caught in a dilemma between exerting nursing professional virtues and exposing the misconduct of the suspected perpetrators, leading to taking passive approaches of ignoring and avoiding as the primary coping strategies. In contrast, nursing educators advocated proactive approaches as coping strategies to address sexual harassment.
Conclusions:
A conflict between nursing professional identity and feminist identity is observed among nursing students. Healthcare institutions and nursing schools should develop interventions to enhance nursing students' assertiveness to sexual harassment.
More Related Videos
14:43A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
00:08A Cross-Disciplinary and Multi-Modal Experimental Design for Studying Near-Real-Time Authentic Examination Experiences
Published on: September 4, 2019
Related Concept Videos
Nurses' Legal Responsibilities III
Cultivating a culture of collaboration and mutual respect among nurses transcends mere enhancement...
Ethnic Identity within a Larger Culture
Horney's Sociocultural Approach
Ethical Dilemmas I
Let us explore some examples to understand the potentially complex moral decisions nurses face.
Take the case of caring for minors, particularly in areas related to reproductive...
Nursing Ethical Principles II
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
Nursing Code of Ethics