Abstract
BackgroundNursing care should be respectful of and unrestricted by patients’ age, ethnicity, gender, dis/abilities or social status, and such values should be taught to nursing students. Nursing teachers are crucial as role models, and their values are essential. In telephone nursing, only age, sex and ethnicity are known to the registered nurses, which can be challenging. The aim of this study was to explore awareness of discrimination and inequity in telephone nursing among nursing teachers.MethodsA study specific survey was filled in by 135 nursing teachers from three universities in Sweden. The survey included short descriptions of 12 fictive persons who differed in age, ethnicity and sex and with questions about their estimated life situation. The teachers’ estimations of life situation were ranked from lowest probability to highest probability. A ‘good life index’ was constructed and calculated for each fictive person. It included quality of life, power over one’s own life and experience of discrimination.ResultsThe results indicate that the nursing teachers were aware of how power and age, ethnicity and sex are related; that is, they were aware of discrimination and inequity in healthcare. The persons assessed to be most likely to lead a good life were males of Swedish origin, followed by females of Swedish origin. Persons with non-European origin were estimated to have the highest probability of experiencing discrimination.ConclusionsThe nursing teachers were aware of discrimination and inequity in healthcare. They were able to estimate a fictive person’s life situation based on the limited knowledge of age, ethnicity and sex. This is important, as their values are pivotal in theoretical and practical nursing education.
Highlights
Nursing care should be respectful of and unrestricted by patients’ age, ethnicity, gender, dis/abilities or social status, and such values should be taught to nursing students
The present study indicated that the nursing teachers were aware of how age, ethnicity and sex are related
This means, that they were aware of discrimination and inequity in healthcare
Summary
Nursing care should be respectful of and unrestricted by patients’ age, ethnicity, gender, dis/abilities or social status, and such values should be taught to nursing students. Nursing teachers are crucial as role models, and their values are essential. Only age, sex and ethnicity are known to the registered nurses, which can be challenging. Equal value and rights for all humans, irrespective of their age, sex, religion and ethnicity are stipulated in the United Nations’ (UN) Universal Declaration of Human Rights [1]. Discrimination relates to the treatment of individuals or groups in a way that refrains from the principle of sameness, namely that individuals who are in some respect equal should be treated . When individuals are treated disadvantageously, based on arbitrary or irrelevant factors such as age, sex, skin colour and so on, discrimination is at hand [8]. In relation to discrimination, equity is important, because that term refers to fairness and ensuring everyone the same opportunities
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