Prevalence and Impact of Workplace Sexual Harassment Experienced by Medical Sonographers

Abstract

ObjectiveTo assess the prevalence and impact of sexual harassment among a nationwide sample of medical sonographers.MethodsA survey was distributed anonymously to a convenience sample of medical sonographers via email contacts and sonographer‐specific social media pages. Data were analyzed to determine respondent demographics, the prevalence of sexual harassment in the last 2 years, the type and severity of harassment experienced, demographics of perpetrators, personal and institutional responses to such experiences, and the impact of sexual harassment on sonographer physical and mental health and job satisfaction.ResultsOf the 220 sonographers (83% female) most (45%) were between 18 and 34 years and identified as white (81%). A total of 192 (87%) reported experiencing at least 1 incident of harassment within the last 2 years. Female respondents experienced higher harassment rates (76%) compared to males (50%, P = .02). The most common forms of harassment were verbal, including suggestive or sexist jokes (69%) and offensive sexist remarks (61%). Perpetrators were predominantly male (78%) and most commonly patients (89%) or their friends/family members (46%). The majority of respondents either ignored the harassing behavior (70%) or treated it like a joke (50%), with only a minority (12%) officially reporting incidents. Of those who reported, 44% were unsatisfied with their institution's response. Among respondents, 34% reported negative impacts of workplace sexual harassment, such as anxiety, depression, sleep loss, or adverse workplace consequences.DiscussionWorkplace sexual harassment is a common occurrence for sonographers and often leads to negative health and career outcomes. Further institutional policies to prevent harassment and mitigate its effects are needed.

Occupational Burnout in Sonography Research and Workplaces: What Is It, How Do We Measure It, and How Do We Address It?

“…27,28 In other words, the CBI may be particularly well-suited to study how burnout interacts with sonographers' experiences in the workplace at the individual, interpersonal, and work environment levels. A recent sonography study from Yi et al 15 highlighted associations between experiences of sexual harassment and adverse psychological outcomes such as depression, sleep loss, and anxiety. Others may also seek to use the CBI to assess client burnout's relationship with hazards arising from interpersonal domains of work such as verbal, physical, and sexual harassment.…”

“…Recent studies of sonographers have indicated that most sonographers experience moderate-to-high levels of occupational burnout, 11 -13 as well as a nearly 90% prevalence of factors related to occupational burnout including work-related musculoskeletal disorders (WRMSD) over the past year 14 and instances of sexual harassment over the past 2 years. 15 A recent systematic review of studies over the past two decades also highlighted the relationship of high workloads and the burden of adverse interactions in patient encounters with occupational burnout. 16 At this point, we have compelling evidence of specific problems that need immediate attention.…”