Sexual harassment from patients and care recipients: How can the upper secondary school´s Health and Social Care Program provide knowledge and prevent it?

Sexual harassment is a significant problem in working life. Assistant nurses in home care and elderly care are particularly exposed. They are mainly exposed by patients and care recipients. However, it can be difficult to gain sympathy for the staff´s vulnerability as their job is to care for others.

How the students who train as assistant nurses, and mainly will work in home care and elderly care, in their educations are prepared for the sexual harassment that occurs in their future workplaces is an unexplored area.

The project therefore will investigate the upper secondary school´s Health and Social Care Program.Research questions:How do actors within the Health and Social Care Program understand the sexual harassment from patients and care recipients?How are students prepared for the sexual harassment of patients and care recipients that may occur in the job for which they are training?What measures can give students, teachers, internship supervisors and the Health and Social Care Program as an organization, increased opportunities and better conditions for dealing with, stopping, preventing and participating in work against sexual harassment from patients and care recipients?

Method and project realisationPolicy documents, curricula, program descriptions, subject descriptions, syllabi and teaching materials will be examined with regard to where and how sexual harassment is or could be addressed within the program. Focus groups with photoelicitation will be conducted with students.

Individual interviews with vignettes in the form of fictitious case descriptions will be carried out with teachers and internship supervisors.

By including the perspectives of different actors as well as policy and educational material, the intention is to get a broad picture of how sexual harassment is understood and handled in relation to the job for which the students are trained.RelevanceThe project is expected to contribute knowledge that provides increased opportunities to counteract sexual harassment from patients and care recipients.

Proposed measures will be developed in collaboration with students, teachers and internship supervisors.

Thus, the project intends to contribute to a positive development in terms of both recruiting and retaining staff in the health and care sector.

The goal of the project is to contribute to an improved work environment and a more sustainable working life for tomorrow´s assistant nurses.