Clinical Ethics, Knowledge, Attitudes and Practices of Nurses: A Limited Study in Turkey

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate nurses' knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding clinical ethics. Methods: The study was conducted with 300 nurses working in inpatient treatment units of Kocaeli University Hospital in Turkey between January 2023 and April 2023. No sample selection was made. The survey evaluated knowledge (16 questions), attitudes (14 questions) and practices (14 questions) regarding clinical ethics. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 25.0 and the p˂0.05 was considered significant. Results: A total of 207 nurses participated in the study, a response rate of approximately 70%. The mean age of the participants was 33.81±7.23 years. The mean ethical knowledge score of the respondents was 9.87.2±2.45 (3-16), the attitude score was 8.87±1.62 (5-13), and the implementation score was 10.35±2.47 (3-14). Nurses' clinical ethics knowledge, attitude and practice scores was above average. Nurse managers who were satisfied with their profession had higher clinical ethics practice scores. Nurses who did not need to receive ethics-related counseling or were able to access ethical counseling had better ethical knowledge and practice scores. There was a moderate positive correlation between ethical knowledge and ethical practice (r=0.109 p<0.001). Conclusion: Respondents reported significant knowledge about clinical ethics, but they lacked knowledge of some issues. As the ethical knowledge of the participants increased, their ethical practice scores also increased. These findings highlight the importance of increasing the knowledge of nurses about clinical ethics through training programs which should result in improved ethical practice.