Incidence, Nature, and Consequences of Oncologists' Experiences With Sexual Harassment

@JCO_ASCO study led by @reshmajagsi and @ishwariaMD characterizes the incidence of #SexualHarassment of oncologists in the previous year and its impact on job satisfaction, turnover intentions, mental health, and sense of safety. #wellness PURPOSE The incidence and impact of workplace sexual harassment (SH) of oncologists requires rigorous characterization. METHODS Oncologists identified by ASCO's Research Survey Pool and social media outreach completed validated measures of SH (encompassing gender harassment, unwanted sexual attention, and sexual coercion) and four outcomes (mental health, job satisfaction, turnover intentions, and sense of workplace safety) over the previous year. Multivariable regression models assess the impact of SH on the four outcomes. RESULTS Of 271 cisgender respondents (153 women and 118 men), 189 (70%) experienced SH in the past year alone by peers and/or superiors (80% of women v 56% of men, P < .0001). Specifically, 186 (69%) experienced gender harassment (79% of women, 55% of men, P < .0001), 45 (17%) unwanted sexual attention (22% of women, 9% of men, P = .005), and 7 (3%) sexual coercion (3% of women, 2% of men, P = .42). SH by patients and/or families in the past year was experienced by 143 (53% overall: 67% of women, 35% of men, P < .0001). Specifically, 141 (52%) experienced gender harassment (66% of women, 34% of men, P < .0001), 15 (6%) unwanted sexual attention (5% of women, 6% of men, P = .80), and 3 (1%) sexual coercion (1% of women, 1% of men, P = .72). Multivariable analysis showed that past-year SH by peers and/or superiors was significantly associated with decreased mental health (beta = -0.45, P = .004), sense of workplace safety (beta = -0.98, P < .001), and job satisfaction (beta = -0.69, P = .001), along with increased turnover intentions (beta = 0.93, P < .0001). Past-year SH by patients and/or families was significantly associated with decreased mental health (beta = -0.41, P = .002), sense of workplace safety (beta = -0.42, P = .014), and increased turnover intentions (beta = 0.58, P = .0004). There were no significant interactions between the respondents' gender and the SH scores in any of the four outcome models, signifying no difference in impact between men and women oncologists. CONCLUSION This study using validated measures of SH to systematically characterize oncologists' workplace experience demonstrates substantial incidence of SH in the previous one year alone and its impact on men and women oncologists, informing the need for and design of effective protective and preventive measures.

Automated summary

This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the incidence and impact of sexual harassment on oncologists in the workplace.