title: Nurse-patient sexual contact in psychiatric hospitals.
abstract: Sexual contacts between nurses and patients in psychiatric hospitals have not been investigated systematically. The aim of the present study was to determine the frequency of nurse-patient sexual relationships and their prominent characteristics on the one hand and the nurses' attitudes towards these contacts on the other. A questionnaire was mailed to 714 nurses employed at two psychiatric hospitals. Although 94% of the 279 respondents considered sexual contact (defined as "physical contact between a patient and a nurse, in which sexual arousal occurred in the nurse") to be inappropriate, 17% of the male and 11% of the female responding nurses reported having had such contacts with patients.
authors.affiliation: Psychiatric Service, University of Berne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: K M
authors.initials: KM
authors.lastname: Bachmann
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bossi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Moggi
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stirnemann-Lewis
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sommer
authors.forename: H D
authors.initials: HD
authors.lastname: Brenner
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003075:Coitus / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006778:Hospitals, Psychiatric; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires