Lived Experiences of Stigma: Nurses Who Work in Abortion Clinics
Abstract
The profession of nursing is respected and trustworthy, but certain nursing specialty fields are looked at less favorably than others. Abortion nursing can be highly stigmatized because of society’s ethical, religious, and legislative arguments about abortion. This qualitative study with ten licensed nurses who work in abortion care in the United States sought to answer two research questions, “What are the lived experiences of nurses who work in abortion clinics?” and “How do nurses who work in abortion clinics experience stigma?”
Three stigma themes and seven lived experience themes emerged from the research. The stigma themes pertain to participants’ experiences with stigma and were identified as: experiences with public stigma, occupation disclosure, and job satisfaction. The lived experience themes detail the broader experiences of nurses who work in abortion clinics. Those themes were identified as: feminism/women’s rights, lack of education, providing support, positive impact, challenging experiences, resilience, and social support.