Sexual Harassment of Newcomers in Elder Care. An Institutional Practice?

Krøjer, Jo; Lehn-Christiansen, Sine; Nielsen, Mette Lykke

doi:10.19154/njwls.v4i1.3553

Cited by 12 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…It is widely regarded that care workers often encounter sexual harassment from patients or clients and that these experiences have detrimental effects on employees' mental health [1,12]. Although sexual harassment from clients and customers is considered an important and prevalent issue, especially in occupations that involve interpersonal contact [25], theoretical developments are weak, and validated measures that may help gain in-depth insights into this phenomenon are missing. Therefore, the aim of this study was to develop and validate a measure for assessing different types of sexual harassment from patients or clients in the healthcare sector.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, knowledge about the impact of sexual harassment from patients, clients, and customers on employee well-being is limited. Although research suggests that sexual harassment from clients and customers is an important and prevalent issue in occupations that involve interpersonal contact [25,26], empirical studies neglected this extraorganizational perspective on sexual harassment.…”

Section: The Effect Of Sexual Harassment On Employees' Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The experience of patients' sexual needs is a frequently occurring part of care work; therefore, it is difficult for care workers to label sexually inappropriate behavior as sexual harassment [4]. As a result, in healthcare, there is a tendency to trivialize sexual harassment from patients or clients as a part of the job and not as a potentially harmful experience [25,56]. Subsequently, a reason for the limited interest in sexual harassment from patients or clients may be that organizations may normalize and neglect the seriousness of this act [12,25].…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, in healthcare, there is a tendency to trivialize sexual harassment from patients or clients as a part of the job and not as a potentially harmful experience [25,56]. Subsequently, a reason for the limited interest in sexual harassment from patients or clients may be that organizations may normalize and neglect the seriousness of this act [12,25]. A problem in person-related professions is the lack of definition of what kinds of behavior are to be accepted, which leads to difficulties in distinguishing between inappropriate sexual behavior from clients and work-related responsibilities [12].…”

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Sexually Harassing Behaviors from Patients or Clients and Care Workers’ Mental Health: Development and Validation of a Measure

Vincent‐Höper

Adler²,

Stein

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Although evidence reveals severe effects of sexual harassment on care workers’ mental health, there is a scarcity of studies that investigate care workers’ experiences of sexually inappropriate behavior from patients or clients. One reason for this lack of research is that validated measures that assess different types of sexual harassment experienced by employees working with patients or clients are lacking. In this study, we seek to establish a conceptual framework for investigating extraorganizational sexual harassment in healthcare work. Based on this theoretical framework, we developed and validated a measure for assessing sexually harassing behaviors from patients or clients. Data were gathered from heterogeneous samples of employees working in a variety of settings in healthcare. To evaluate the factorial structure of the measure, we conducted exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using a calibration sample (N = 179) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using a cross-validation sample (N = 305). The construct validity of the measure was demonstrated by investigating relationships with indicators of care workers’ mental health. EFA revealed three factors, namely, nonverbal, verbal, and physical acts of sexual harassment. Examination of the measure comprising 14 items revealed acceptable internal consistencies and substantial correlations with indicators of care workers’ mental health. This study provides a useful and sound measure for assessing sexual harassment from patients or clients and paves the way for the development of a comprehensive theoretical framework for the assessment of sexual harassment. Furthermore, it facilitates future investigations of risk factors for sexual harassment and protective factors helping healthcare workers cope with sexual harassment from patients or clients.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: The Effect Of Sexual Harassment On Employees' Mental Healthmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Practical Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Sexually Harassing Behaviors from Patients or Clients and Care Workers’ Mental Health: Development and Validation of a Measure

Vincent‐Höper

Adler²,

Stein

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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“…The closer and more intimate contact there is, the more demanding the body work will be (Kalman and Andersson, ; Wainwright et al , ). In the same vein Krøjer et al () show how care workers are taught to dress ‘properly’ based on a logic of avoiding sexual harassment. In this study we see rehabilitative care, which is embedded in discourses and practices of health promotion and activity, as potentially instigating additional forms of body work on workers' own bodies.…”

Section: Care Work and Body Workmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Carers to Trainers: Professional Identity and Body Work in Rehabilitative Eldercare

Hansen¹,

Kamp²

2016

Gender Work & Organization

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This article explores how a nationwide reform initiative, calling for a rehabilitative, activating and 'training' approach to elderly people in Danish homecare services, may transform gendered and embodied conceptions of 'the professional care worker'. Care work for the elderly is a low-paid and low-status occupation, affected by the stigma connected with elderly bodies. Drawing on an ethnographic case study of a homecare unit, this article shows how the adoption of a new distanced, goal-oriented approach to elderly bodies attempts to transform professional identities, and how care work is constructed as reflexive and change oriented, in contrast to emotional and relational approaches. This transformation potentially leads to a more advantageous position for care workers in gendered professional hierarchies. Simultaneously this process seems to render care workers' own bodies more visible, problematizing what are perceived as uncontrolled and unhealthy care worker bodies. The article thus argues that rehabilitative eldercare leads to an intertwining of two forms of bodywork, where work on the care worker's own body and the elderly body mutually constitute each other in a novel body-body articulation.

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Sexual harassment in care work – Dilemmas and consequences: A qualitative investigation

Nielsen

Kjær

Aldrich

et al. 2017

International Journal of Nursing Studies

121

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Sexual Harassment of Newcomers in Elder Care. An Institutional Practice?

Abstract: Sexual harassment is illegal and may have very damaging effects on

Cited by 12 publications

References 11 publications

Sexually Harassing Behaviors from Patients or Clients and Care Workers’ Mental Health: Development and Validation of a Measure

Sexually Harassing Behaviors from Patients or Clients and Care Workers’ Mental Health: Development and Validation of a Measure

From Carers to Trainers: Professional Identity and Body Work in Rehabilitative Eldercare

Sexual harassment in care work – Dilemmas and consequences: A qualitative investigation

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