BACKGROUND: This study sought to establish the prevalence and characteristics of moral harassment during medical and non-medical residencies in a teaching hospital in Recife, PE. METHODS: A questionnaire was developed based on the available bibliography with the intent of creating a profile of both victim and harasser, also assaying the consequences of the harassment. The participants were presented a definition of moral harassment. RESULTS: The questionnaire was answered by 105 residents. The prevalence of moral harassment was 41.9%, with no significant difference between medical and non-medical residents (p = 0.225), age group (p = 0.082), year of residency (p = 0.349) or sex (p = 0.118). The female residents reported the harassment as being more harmful: 96.6% of harassed female residents experienced negative consequences, compared to only 1 male (p = 0.013). Regarding the harassers, supervising physicians were identified more often than others as being the perpetrators of moral harassment (40.7%; p = < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: There was no significant difference in the prevalence of moral harassment among the different groups of this study. During residency, females are more prone to suffer consequences due to moral harassment (p = 0.013). Supervising physicians were most frequently involved in harassing behavior.
Social Behavior; Internship and Residency; Medical Education
