Effectiveness of ethical issues teaching program on knowledge, ethical behavior and ethical stress among nurses

Abstract

Background: New technology, economic constraints, scarce resources and conflicting values have set expectations for nurses’ ethical competence. Everyday ethical issues in nursing practice attract little attention but can create stress for nurses. Nurses often feel uncomfortable in addressing the ethical issues they encounter in patient care. The aim of the study is to  examine the effect of teaching program regarding ethical issues on nurses knowledge, ethical behavior, frequency and degree of ethical stress.

Subjects and methods: Research design is  A Quasi-experimental design was used in the study. The study was conducted among staff nurses working at Mansoura Emergency Hospital which provides a wide spectrum of health services at Delta Region. Three tools were used for data collection namely: Ethical Issues Knowledge Questionnaire, Observational checklist for Ethical Behavior and Ethical Issues Stress scale.

Results: The study findings concludes that there was a strong correlation  between Knowledge of Nursing ethics and Ethical behavior after the teaching program. In addition strong correlation  found between the Knowledge and frequency of ethical stress in post test.

Conclusion & Recommendations: Nurses face daily ethical challenges in the provision of quality health care. Ethical issues teaching program has positive influence in improving their knowledge, reduction in the frequency and degree of stress. It is recommended that ethics training cannot take place just once in   a training room, but needs on-going support at all levels of the organization.  The training should include what ethics is, along with actual examples of relevant situations, and how to explore an ethical dilemma through interacting with others.