Prevalence of gender-based violence in university nursing students: Multi-centric Mexican study

Introduction. This study provides crucial information from seven Mexican educational institutions about the experience of gender violence experienced by nursing students during their university education that has not been emphasized in the Mexican scientific literature. Its purpose is to develop an educational strategy to prevent violence in nursing. Objective: To compare the prevalence of gender violence and its characteristics, experienced in the university environment by nursing students from seven Mexican educational entities. Method: Cross-sectional quantitative design, based on the construction and validation of a multidimensional content instrument to measure perception, attitudes, knowledge, and gender-based violence in nursing university students in Mexico that was self-administered online. The 1345 sample was calculated with a confidence level of 0.95% and a probability of 0.5%. The selection was by non-probabilistic convenience sampling. The data were processed in SPSS-21 statistical software and analyzed using descriptive statistics. Informed consent was requested for risks, benefits, and data protection. Approved by the research and ethics committees of the various universities. Results: The prevalence of gender violence in university nursing students is moderately high (49.3%) with high typologies. Physical (76.7%) and sexual violence (64.61%) predominated. Violence is experienced both in the classroom and in clinical practices, with college colleagues being the main perpetrators, especially affecting the emotional health of the victims: stress, depression, anguish, and low self-esteem. By educational institution, the highest prevalence level was obtained by the UADY, 61.05%, followed by the FESZ, 53.13%, and the UV, 51.22%. There is a lack of knowledge among the students of the presence of a department that provides services, 73.5%, and of the protocol for the care of gender violence, 64%. Discussion. Consistency was found in the results of this study regarding the high prevalence of gender violence in the international context. As is the high persistence of sexual violence, as is the case of nursing students in Taiwan, Nigeria, Brazil, and Ecuador, perhaps due to the common denominator of the highest percentage of female students, which shows that a good percentage of Nursing student women in different spaces and moments have gone through an act of sexual assault or harassment. Conclusion. In general, the prevalence of gender-based violence in Mexican nursing schools is moderately high with high typologies. Future research should provide strategies to counteract this problem. The universities must propose policies and legislation also in the clinical environments of the students.