Nearly half of doctors are sexually harassed by patients, study finds

New research shows that nearly half of all doctors worldwide have experienced sexual harassment from patients, prompting calls to equip doctors with panic alarms to deter such behavior.

Worldwide, 45% of doctors have experienced various forms of sexual harassment by patients, according to a review of seven countries published in the Internal Medicine Journal.

More than half (52.2%) of female doctors have experienced sexual harassment, meaning they are much more likely to be victims than their male colleagues (34.4%), the academics found.

Physicians face many forms of sexual harassment, including unwanted sexual attention, making sexually suggestive jokes with patients, asking them out, touching them inappropriately, and sending them romantic messages or letters.

Doctors also have to deal with the people they treat showing them body parts or responding in an unwanted way, such as having an erection, or making sexual comments during a physical examination or inappropriately requesting such an examination.

The findings emerged from a meta-analysis of 22 previously published research articles on the topic from different parts of the world, analysed by Dr Caroline Kamau-Mitchell of Birkbeck College, part of the University of London.

Kamau-Mitchell said the high prevalence of sexual harassment by patients should prompt hospitals, clinics and other health care providers to take strong measures to protect doctors.

“I advise hospitals and clinics to take these findings seriously and provide protection for doctors working in isolated wards, on night shifts or alone, for example with camera surveillance and panic alarms,” she said.

The Royal College of Physicians, the main body representing hospital doctors, called the findings “truly alarming”. It endorsed the authors’ call and said doctors needed “essential protection” from patient harassment, particularly when working alone.

Dr Hilary Williams, medical oncologist and vice-chair of the RCP for Wales, said: “Hospitals can be quiet and dark at night with long corridors and unfortunately crumbling NHS buildings can have limited security. All too often staff are forced to park in unlit corners at night, far away from security.”

“The right safety measures, such as panic alarms and CCTV, can provide vital protection for clinicians, especially those working alone or in isolated settings. But we need to ensure that such measures do not compromise patient privacy,” she added.

Sexual harassment by patients has led doctors to feel physically unsafe at work, in some cases locking their office doors when alone, the authors add. Some have even installed CCTV or taken other security measures in their homes.

The findings state that of the seven countries for which there was reliable evidence of the scale of the problem: “Across both genders, (and) when comparing different regions, the proportion of doctors who had experienced sexual harassment from patients was highest in the UK, followed by Canada, Australia, the US, Israel, Germany (and) then Malaysia.”

In Australia, for example, doctors who have been sexually harassed are much more formal in their dealings with those who perpetuate the unwanted behaviour.

Sexual harassment is one of the reasons why doctors decide to leave the NHS. The NHS needs to improve the way doctors can report such incidents, Williams said.

“These findings are truly alarming, but sadly they will come as no surprise to many people working in the NHS.

“There are many clear reasons why staff continue to leave the NHS, including the overwhelming demands they face, but also the debilitating, frequent and severe attacks many doctors face directly contribute to this,” she said.

“As with many forms of harassment, the channels for reporting harassment are poor. There are rightly very clear procedures for patients to report harassment, but there is much less support for doctors to raise concerns about the behaviour of patients and families.

“Unfortunately, staff are so busy these days that it is often easier to just move on and accept it so they can quickly help the next patient.”

Kamau-Mitchell, a senior lecturer in occupational health at Birkbeck College, is an expert on the challenges and pressures doctors face in their work, and the significant impact this can have on their mental wellbeing.