VA Staff Perspectives on Post-incident Interventions for Responding to Patient-Perpetrated Sexual Harassment and...

Patient sexual harassment of healthcare staff is common and negatively impacts workforce retention, staff well-being, and quality of patient care. Veterans Affairs (VA) and other healthcare facilities lack systematic procedures for responding to patient-perpetrated sexual harassment and supporting affected staff.

To identify existing and ideal practices for supporting VA primary care staff in responding to and coping with sexual harassment from patients.

We conducted qualitative interviews with staff in 8 Western and Southwestern VA healthcare facilities during 2023-2024.

Participants (n = 31) included primary care providers (e.g., physicians, nurses), administrators (e.g., primary care chiefs), and experts in workplace violence prevention.

We interviewed participants via videoconference using a semi-structured guide and applied hybrid deductive/inductive thematic analysis to identify key needs and recommendations.

A central theme underpinning the results was the need to shift VA's organizational climate from one that tolerates patient sexual harassment of staff to one that prioritizes and promotes staff safety. We identified unmet needs and recommendations in four domains for supporting staff in responding to and coping with patient-perpetrated sexual harassment: (1) frontline staff training on effectively responding to harassment in the moment; (2) supervisor training on supporting staff who experience harassment; (3) clinic and facility procedures and resources for emotionally supporting staff after harassment; and (4) facility procedures for reporting harassment.

Effectively responding to patient-perpetrated sexual harassment requires a multifaceted approach spanning frontline staff, supervisor, and clinic/facility levels. Findings may inform development of trainings, procedures, and resources that align with staff preferences and fill gaps in VA's anti-harassment efforts. Additional work is needed to implement and evaluate interventions that increase staff's capacity to respond to and cope with harassment, improve VA's climate related to harassment, and ensure that staff feel safe and respected at work.