Abstract
Background: Nurses who work in psychiatry settings encounter important ethical and legal challenges in practice and caring for patients with mental disorders. This study was aimed to determine barriers of applying the ethical and legal issues in psychiatric nursing and its relation to staff nurses' knowledge. Methods: Descriptive design was used in this study. Purposive sample of 120 psychiatric nurses at Beni-Suef and Benha Mental Health Hospital was recruited for this study. A structured questionnaire developed by researchers was used for data collection. Results: Revealed that the majority (80.0%) of the subjects had unsatisfactory knowledge regarding the legal aspects. There is a highly positive statistically significant relationship between legal knowledge and ethical practices among participating psychiatric nurses (r=0.289, p < 0.000). Conclusion: The results showed that, the barriers most frequently observed by the nurses who work in psychiatric hospitals are lack of time, the frequent number of patients with fewer nurses the community's perception of inferiority towards nursing profession, and lack of authority to make decisions. There is a negative statistically significant relationship between ethical practices and barriers among participating psychiatric nurses. Recommendations: Develop nursing education programs that are specifically focused on ethical problems in the fields of mental health and psychiatry to increase their awareness regarding ethics-legal aspects.
Highlights
Legal and ethical concerns in the psychiatric nursing profession are a significant subject as context of care is important for all psychiatric nurses because it focuses concern on the rights patients and the quality of care they receive
Nurses must have a satisfactory understanding of essential legal concepts and issues important to nursing profession in order to safeguard the rights of the patients and nursing staff[14]
The current study was carried-out to explore the staff nurses‟ awareness of legal and ethical aspects, and barriers affecting in psychiatric nursing practice
Summary
Legal and ethical concerns in the psychiatric nursing profession are a significant subject as context of care is important for all psychiatric nurses because it focuses concern on the rights patients and the quality of care they receive. They are scientific concerns, for that reason the nursing profession must have its private professional ethics and laws. Understanding basic legal concepts and professional ethics help nurses develop a structure to deal effectively with complex client issues by which they can get the power to influence daily exclusion when they are dealing with psychiatric patients [1]. Ethical and Legal Practice is a principle for nurses involved in ethical concerns on a daily foundation. The major ethical principles are fidelity, autonomy, beneficence, justice, veracity, and nonmaleficence [2]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
