Nursing is often described as the backbone of health systems, yet the people who deliver that care are frequently judged through a lens shaped more by tradition than by clinical reality. In Tanzania, where men remain a minority within the nursing workforce, that judgment carries a particular weight. A new descriptive qualitative study conducted in Dodoma City suggests that societal perceptions of male nurses are not merely an abstract sociological concern; they appear to reach directly into the consultation room, shaping how nurses see themselves, how they relate to patients, and ultimately the quality of care that patients receive. The research, published in BMC Nursing by Angel L. Likimboivoi and Fabiola Vincent Moshi of the University of Dodoma, offers one of the most detailed portraits to date of how gendered expectations collide with professional identity in an East African health system.
The study set out with a clear aim: to explore how Tanzanian male nurses perceive society’s view of their profession, and to examine how those perceived perceptions mold their professional identity and influence the care they deliver. Professional identity, in the nursing literature, is far more than a matter of personal pride. It is a psychological construct that underpins motivation, job satisfaction, professional commitment, and the day-to-day quality of patient care. When that identity is eroded by stereotypes, the consequences can cascade: a nurse who feels undervalued may experience frustration, diminished motivation, and psychological distress, all of which are known to degrade performance in demanding clinical environments. The Dodoma researchers wanted to understand whether and how this cascade operates for men in a profession still widely coded as female.
To capture that experience, the team adopted a descriptive qualitative design, an approach suited to exploring lived experience in depth rather than measuring it numerically. The study took place at two healthcare facilities in Dodoma City: Makole Health Center and Dodoma Regional Referral Hospital. Ten registered male nurses were recruited through purposive sampling, a technique in which researchers deliberately select participants who have direct, relevant experience of the phenomenon under investigation. This was supplemented by convenience sampling to accommodate participants’ availability during the data collection period, a pragmatic addition common in busy clinical settings where rigid scheduling is difficult. The sample size, while modest, is consistent with qualitative conventions, where the goal is thematic saturation and rich description rather than statistical generalization.
Data were gathered through semi-structured, in-depth interviews guided by an open-ended interview guide. This format is a deliberate methodological choice: semi-structured interviews allow researchers to cover a consistent set of topics across participants while leaving room for unexpected themes to emerge in the participants’ own words. Every interview was audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim, preserving the exact language participants used. The transcripts were then analyzed using thematic analysis following the widely used framework of Braun and Clarke, a six-phase process that moves from familiarization with the data, through systematic coding, to the generation, review, and refinement of themes. The result is a structured map of shared meanings across the group, grounded in direct accounts rather than researcher assumptions.
The analysis surfaced four major themes. The first concerned societal perceptions and the professional identity of male nurses, capturing how participants believed the public understood, or misunderstood, their role. The second focused on persistent traditional beliefs and gender stereotyping, the cultural machinery that continues to frame nursing as women’s work. The third examined the impact of societal perceptions on nurse-patient relationships and psychological well-being, linking external judgment to internal strain and to the therapeutic bond at the bedside. The fourth, notably, was forward-looking: educating the community and promoting accountability, reflecting the strategies participants believed could change the narrative. Together, the themes illustrate how societal perceptions shape nurses’ professional identity, their interpersonal interactions with patients, and their overall work performance.
The findings on stereotyping are the study’s most sobering. The authors report that negative stereotypes held by society and the continuous misrepresentation of the nursing role harmed the professional status of men in nursing, damaged relationships between nurses and their patients, and lowered the standard of care delivered. Participants described feeling that their role was undervalued, experiencing frustration, watching their motivation decrease, and suffering psychological distress because of ongoing societal misjudgment of their profession. In clinical terms, this matters because nursing depends on sustained emotional engagement. A nurse who is psychologically depleted or who senses distrust from patients may find it harder to communicate effectively, to advocate for patients, or to maintain the attentiveness that safe care requires. The study thus positions public perception not as a soft issue but as a variable with measurable clinical stakes.
The nurse-patient relationship deserves particular attention. Nursing care is built on trust, and trust is a social transaction as much as a clinical one. If patients arrive with preconceived notions about what a nurse should look like or what a man in scrubs is doing at the bedside, the therapeutic encounter begins at a disadvantage. The Dodoma participants indicated that these dynamics affected their interpersonal interactions with patients, a finding that echoes a broader international literature on gender and caring work. When patients question a male nurse’s competence or motives, the nurse must spend energy managing that skepticism rather than directing it entirely toward care. Over time, the researchers suggest, this erosion of the relationship contributes to the lowered standard of care described in the study’s conclusions.
Yet the study is not simply a catalogue of grievance. Despite the difficulties, the nurses employed a variety of coping methods and advocacy techniques to confront misconceptions and maintain their commitment to the profession. The fourth theme, educating the community and promoting accountability, points to a constructive agenda: participants saw public education about nursing roles and greater professional accountability as pathways out of the current impasse. This matters for workforce policy. Health systems across sub-Saharan Africa face persistent shortages of skilled health workers, and nursing is central to universal health coverage ambitions. If stigma discourages men from entering or remaining in the profession, or drives practicing nurses toward burnout and attrition, the costs are borne by patients. Interventions that improve public understanding of nursing roles and increase professional recognition could therefore yield dividends in nurse well-being and in the general quality of patient care, the two outcomes the authors explicitly highlight.
Methodologically, the study has clear boundaries that readers should keep in view. With ten participants at two facilities in a single city, the findings are descriptive and transferable in the qualitative sense, illuminating a phenomenon in depth, but they are not statistically representative of all Tanzanian male nurses. The authors themselves frame the work as descriptive qualitative research, and the interview-based design means the data reflect participants’ perceptions of societal views rather than independent measurements of public opinion. Even so, perceptions are the operative variable here: it is the nurse’s belief about how society sees him that shapes his identity and behavior, and that is precisely what the study set out to capture. The ethical conduct of the research was rigorous, with approval from the University of Dodoma Research Ethics Committee, permission from both facility managements, written informed consent from all participants, and maintained confidentiality, anonymity, and voluntary participation throughout, in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.
The broader significance of the Dodoma study lies in its reframing of a familiar debate. Discussions about gender in nursing often center on recruitment pipelines or workplace discrimination in high-income countries. This study shifts the focus to societal perception as a clinical determinant, tracing a pathway from cultural stereotype to professional identity to patient outcome. It suggests that strengthening the nursing workforce in Tanzania, and potentially in comparable settings, requires not only training and resources but a public relations effort aimed at the profession itself: teaching communities what nurses actually do, recognizing male nurses as full professionals, and holding institutions accountable for the respect they afford their staff. For the ten nurses of Dodoma who shared their experiences, the message is straightforward. Their commitment to the profession has survived sustained misjudgment, but survival should not be the standard. As the authors conclude, targeted interventions to improve public understanding of nursing roles and increase professional recognition are needed to improve nurses’ well-being and the general quality of patient care, a prescription that applies well beyond Dodoma.
Subject of Research: Societal perceptions of male nurses in Tanzania and their influence on professional identity and patient care
Article Title: Perspectives of Tanzanian male nurses on societal perceptions and their influence on professional identity and patient care: a descriptive qualitative study in Dodoma, Tanzania
Article References: Likimboivoi, A. L., & Moshi, F. V. (2026). Perspectives of Tanzanian male nurses on societal perceptions and their influence on professional identity and patient care: a descriptive qualitative study in Dodoma, Tanzania. BMC Nursing. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12912-026-05325-0
Image Credits: AI Generated
DOI: 10.1186/s12912-026-05325-0
Keywords: male nurses, Tanzania, professional identity, gender stereotypes, societal perception, nursing care, qualitative research, thematic analysis, nurse-patient relationship, Dodoma, BMC Nursing, workforce
News Source: Ophelia Keating. (October 9, 2026). Male Nurses in Tanzania Fight Stereotypes That Erode Identity and Care. Scienmag.
