An Integrative Review of Body Art in Nursing

BACKGROUND

Schools of nursing and health care facilities frequently have policies prohibiting the visibility of body art (tattoos and piercings). The authors sought to understand literature specific to nursing regarding such policies.

PURPOSE

This integrative review examined literature regarding body art in nursing.

METHODS

A systematic electronic database search was conducted for publications between 2010 and 2021. Thematic analysis of both empirical studies and nonresearch articles was completed.

RESULTS

Thirty articles were analyzed, revealing 3 themes and 8 subthemes related to body art in nursing practice: level of acceptability (subthemes were positive perception, stigmatizing, and personal meaning); professional image (subthemes were appearance matters, policy, and trust and confidence); and infection concern (subthemes were hygiene and contamination).

CONCLUSIONS

Current understanding from literature regarding body art in nursing was summarized.

The Influence of Tattoos on Health Care Experiences

Background Tattoos are an artistic, visible reflection of an individual's personality and life. According to Goffman and subcultural identity theory, the population with tattoos wants to be different from mainstream society. Method A qualitative descriptive phenomenological research process was used. Results Twelve participants described deep personal identity connections to their large, visible tattoos. They experienced positive reactions (n = 2, 16%), no reaction/acknowledgment (n = 7, 58%), or negative reactions (n = 3, 25%) from health care providers. Conclusion Comments made by health care providers tend to be remembered regardless of the context and can contribute to health and care disparities. Participants who received negative reactions to their tattoos switched providers. Those who received no reactions could have felt insignificant. Ongoing culturally sensitive education is important. Tattoos can start meaningful conversations that allow health care providers to gain valuable insight. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(4):178-184.].