title: To hide or not to hide, that is the question! Lesbians and gay men describe experiences from nursing work environment.
abstract: Homosexual nursing staff (n = 21) from different parts of Sweden were interviewed about experiences from their psychosocial work environment and about what they consider important points to communicate about lesbians and gay men in nursing. The findings show that most of the informants were partly open about their sexual orientation at work, the women less so than the men. All informants spoke of the fear of being socially excluded. Reported negative experiences included being neglected, harassment, and verbal discomfort based on sexual prejudices. The informants regarded responsibility, the need for knowledge, the consequences of invisibility, and the lesbian's specific situation, important points to communicate regarding homosexuality and nursing.
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health and Caring Sciences, Section of Caring Sciences, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. gerd.rondahl@pubcare.uu.se
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Röndahl
authors.forename: Sune
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Innala
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carlsson
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D005239:Fear / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D018452:Homosexuality, Female / Q000523:psychology*; D018451:Homosexuality, Male / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009726:Nurses / Q000523:psychology*; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000523:psychology*; D011287:Prejudice; D012650:Self Disclosure; D013548:Sweden; D017132:Workplace