Nurses’ attitudes towards euthanasia in conflict with professional ethical guidelines

2016 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Terkamo-Moisio ◽  
Tarja Kvist ◽  
Mari Kangasniemi ◽  
Teuvo Laitila ◽  
Olli-Pekka Ryynänen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Guidelines ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Research Questions ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University

Background: Despite the significant role of nurses in end-of-life care, their attitudes towards euthanasia are under-represented both in the current literature and the controversial debate that is ongoing in several countries. Research questions: What are the attitudes towards euthanasia among Finnish nurses? Which characteristics are associated with those attitudes? Research design: Cross-sectional web-based survey. Participants and research context: A total of 1003 nurses recruited via the members’ bulletin of the Finnish Nurses Association and social media. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Committee on Research Ethics of the university to which the authors were affiliated. Findings: The majority (74.3%) of the participants would accept euthanasia as part of Finnish healthcare, and 61.8% considered that Finland would benefit from a law permitting euthanasia. Most of the nurses (89.9%) thought that a person must have the right to decide on his or her own death; 77.4% of them considered it likely that they would themselves make a request for euthanasia in certain situations. Discussion: The value of self-determination and the ability to choose the moment and manner of one’s death are emphasized in the nurses’ attitudes towards euthanasia. Conclusion: A continuous dialogue about euthanasia and nurses’ shared values is crucial due to the conflict between nurses’ attitudes and current ethical guidelines on nursing.

scholarly journals Finnish nurses’ attitudes towards their role in the euthanasia process

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 700-714 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anja Terkamo-Moisio ◽  
Chris Gastmans ◽  
Olli-Pekka Ryynänen ◽  
Anna-Maija Pietilä
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Great Majority ◽  
Active Role ◽  
Willingness To Participate ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Specific Safety ◽  
The University

Background: Nurses’ voices remain unheard in most debates about euthanasia, although their crucial role in the euthanasia process is widely acknowledged. Moreover, in Canadian euthanasia law, nurses have a more active role, which further highlights the need for knowledge about nurses’ attitudes towards their role in the euthanasia process. Research questions: What are Finnish nurses’ attitudes towards their potential role in the euthanasia process? Which characteristics are associated with those attitudes? Research design: Cross-sectional web-based survey. Participants and research context: 1003 nurses, recruited via social media and the members’ bulletin of the Finnish Nurses Association. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Committee on Research Ethics of the university to which the first author was affiliated. Findings: The great majority (85.2%) of nurses felt that their perspective should be considered in decision-making related to euthanasia. Furthermore, most of the participants (74.7%) reported willingness to participate in the euthanasia process if it were legal, and 88.6% agreed that a nurse should be present when euthanasia is performed if the patient wishes so. Furthermore, over half agreed that some of the preparatory tasks were part of their job description. However, a minority (32.9%) agreed with a possible obligation to participate based on their profession. Nurses’ age, religiosity and educational level influenced their attitudes in the current results. Discussion: Despite the strong agreement on decision-making concerning euthanasia and participation in the euthanasia process, obligation to participate based on the profession was rejected by most participants. Nurses regarded themselves as consultants in the decision-making process, which may indicate their unwillingness to share the responsibility for the decision itself. Conclusion: Specific safety mechanisms should be considered to protect nurses who refuse to be involved in the euthanasia process due to harm that involuntary participation might cause.

scholarly journals Measuring nurses’ moral courage: an explorative study

2021 ◽  
pp. 096973302110032
Author(s):  
Kasper Jean-Pierre Konings ◽  
Chris Gastmans ◽  
Olivia Hanneli Numminen ◽  
Roelant Claerhout ◽  
Glenn Aerts ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Relationship ◽  
Descriptive Analysis ◽  
Moral Courage ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Dutch Translation ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Socio Demographic Factors ◽  
The University

Background: The 21-item Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale was developed and validated in 2018 in Finland with the purpose of measuring moral courage among nurses. Objectives: The objective of this study was to make a Dutch translation of the Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale to describe the level of nurses’ self-assessed moral courage and associated socio-demographic factors in Flanders, Belgium. Research design: A forward–backward translation method was applied to translate the English Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale to Dutch, and a pilot study was conducted to improve readability and understandability. A non-experimental, descriptive cross-sectional exploratory design was used to conduct a survey. Descriptive analysis was used. Participants: The data were collected from a convenience sample of 559 nurses from two hospitals in Flanders. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the university ethics committee, permission to conduct the study was obtained from the participating hospitals. Participants received a guide letter and gave their informed consent. Findings: The readability and understandability of the Dutch Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale were positively evaluated, and the scale revealed a good level of internal consistency for the total scale (α = .914) and all subscales. Nurses’ mean score of the 21-item Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale was 3.77 (standard deviation = 0.537). The total Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale score was associated with age (p < .001), experience (p < .001), professional function (p = .002), level of education (p = .002) and personal interest (p < .001). Discussion and Conclusion: The Nurses’ Moral Courage Scale was successfully translated to Dutch. The Flemish nurses perceived themselves as morally courageous, especially when they were in a direct interpersonal relationship with their patients. Acting courageously in ethical dilemmas that involved other actors or organizations appeared to be more challenging. The results strongly suggest the important role of education and ethical leadership in developing and supporting this essential virtue in nursing practice.

scholarly journals The role of community pharmacists in immunisation: a national cross-sectional study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nikolaus Lindner ◽  
Martin Riesenhuber ◽  
Thomas Müller-Uri ◽  
Anita Elaine Weidmann
Keyword(s):  
Online Survey ◽  
Theoretical Domains Framework ◽  
Community Pharmacists ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Patient Contact ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
The Right

AbstractBackground Austrian pharmacists are not authorised to administer immunisations, and evidence about their willingness to immunise is lacking. Aim The aim of this study is to investigate Austrian community pharmacists’ willingness to administer immunisations in the future. Method This study is designed as a cross-sectional online survey based on the theoretical domains framework (TDF). The validated and piloted questionnaire obtained ethical approval by Robert Gordon University. Outcome measures included pharmacists’ willingness to immunise, service requirements, barriers and education needs. Results The questionnaire was sent out to 3086 community pharmacists of which 380 responses were included in the final analysis (12.3%). Willingness to administer immunisations after appropriate training and legislative regulation was stated by 82.6% (n = 314) of participants. It was demonstrated that pharmacists willing to immunise were significantly younger than their counterpart (38 [IQR 31–49] years vs. 45 [IQR 37.5–54] years; OR 1.06; 1.03–1.09, 95% CI; p < 0.001). ‘Legal liability’ was considered the most critical barrier to service implementation, ‘seeing blood’ and ‘close patient contact’ as least critical. Pharmacists not willing to immunise showed a higher probability to evaluate personnel resources (OR 2.98; 1.35–6.58, 95% CI; p = 0.007), close patient contact (OR 2.79; 1.46–5.34, 95% CI; p = 0.002) and management of side effects (OR 2.62; 1.21–5.67, 95% CI; p = 0.015) as (highly) critical. The majority assessed the ‘right timing for training’ to be after the foundation training with a 2-yearly renewal. Conclusion Austrian community pharmacists show a strong willingness to administer immunisations while highlighting important requirements and barriers towards service implementation.

Whistle-blowing process in healthcare: From suspicion to action

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 526-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johanna Pohjanoksa ◽  
Minna Stolt ◽  
Riitta Suhonen ◽  
Eliisa Löyttyniemi ◽  
Helena Leino-Kilpi
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Negative Consequences ◽  
Ethical Considerations ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Whistle Blowing ◽  
Ethical Approval ◽  
Negative Tone ◽  
The University ◽  
Descriptive Survey ◽  
Illegal Action

Background: Whistle-blowing is an ethical activity that tries to end wrongdoing. Wrongdoing in healthcare varies from inappropriate behaviour to illegal action. Whistle-blowing can have negative consequences for the whistle-blower, often in the form of bullying or retribution. Despite the wrongdoing and negative tone of whistle-blowing, there is limited literature exploring them in healthcare. Objective: The aim was to describe possible wrongdoing in Finnish healthcare and to examine whistle-blowing processes described on the basis of the existing literature in healthcare as perceived by healthcare professionals. Research design: The study was a cross-sectional descriptive survey. The data were collected using the electronic questionnaire Whistle-blowing in Health Care and analysed statistically. Participants and research context: A total of 397 Finnish healthcare professionals participated, 278 of whom had either suspected or observed wrongdoing in healthcare, which established the data for this article. Ethical considerations: Ethical approval was obtained from the Ethics Committee of the University (20/2015). Permission to conduct the study was received according to the organisation’s policies. Findings: Wrongdoing occurs in healthcare, as 96% of the participants had suspected and 94% had observed wrongdoing. Regarding the frequency, wrongdoing was suspected (57%) and observed (52%) more than once a month. Organisation-related wrongdoing was the most common type of wrongdoing (suspected 70%, observed 66%). In total, two whistle-blowing processes were confirmed in healthcare: (1) from suspicion to consequences occurred to 27%, and (2) from observation to consequences occurred to 37% of the participants. Discussion and conclusion: Wrongdoing occurs in healthcare quite frequently. Whistle-blowing processes were described based on the existing literature, but two separate processes were confirmed by the empirical data. More research is needed on wrongdoing and whistle-blowing on it in healthcare.

scholarly journals Association between Hippocampal Volume and Working Memory in 10,000+ 9–10-Year-Old Children: Sex Differences

Children ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (5) ◽  
pp. 411
Author(s):  
Shervin Assari ◽  
Shanika Boyce ◽  
Tanja Jovanovic
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sex Differences ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Predictor Variable ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Hippocampal Volume ◽  
Study Data ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
The Right

Aim: This study tested sex differences in the association between hippocampal volume and working memory of a national sample of 9–10-year-old children in the US. As the hippocampus is functionally lateralized (especially in task-related activities), we explored the results for the right and the left hippocampus. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study using the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study data. This analysis included baseline ABCD data (n = 10,093) of children between ages 9 and 10 years. The predictor variable was right and left hippocampal volume measured by structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI). The primary outcome, list sorting working memory, was measured using the NIH toolbox measure. Sex was the moderator. Age, race, ethnicity, household income, parental education, and family structure were the covariates. Results: In the overall sample, larger right (b = 0.0013; p < 0.001) and left (b = 0.0013; p < 0.001) hippocampal volumes were associated with higher children’s working memory. Sex had statistically significant interactions with the right (b = −0.0018; p = 0.001) and left (b = −0.0012; p = 0.022) hippocampal volumes on children’s working memory. These interactions indicated stronger positive associations between right and left hippocampal volume and working memory for females compared to males. Conclusion: While right and left hippocampal volumes are determinants of children’s list sorting working memory, these effects seem to be more salient for female than male children. Research is needed on the role of socialization, sex hormones, and brain functional connectivity as potential mechanisms that may explain the observed sex differences in the role of hippocampal volume as a correlate of working memory.

scholarly journals Insights into the Predictors of Attitude toward Entomophagy: The Potential Role of Health Literacy: A Cross-Sectional Study Conducted in a Sample of Students of the University of Florence

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (10) ◽  
pp. 5306
Author(s):  
Chiara Lorini ◽  
Laura Ricotta ◽  
Virginia Vettori ◽  
Marco Del Riccio ◽  
Massimiliano Alberto Biamonte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Health Literacy ◽  
Potential Role ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Sectional Study ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
University Of Florence ◽  
The University ◽  
Self Administered Questionnaire

In Western countries, one of the main barriers to entomophagy is repulsion toward insects. Few studies have investigated the factors that influence attitudes toward entomophagy. Therefore, we conducted a cross-sectional study involving a sample of 248 university students, focusing on disgust and other potential attributes that can influence insect consumption, including health literacy. We used a 17-item self-administered questionnaire. Consistent with the literature, two items were chosen as outcome variables to evaluate the predictors of the propensity to consume insects: “Have you ever eaten insects or insect-based products?” and “How disgusting do you find eating insects?” The data analysis shows that having already eaten insects is inversely associated with the level of disgust (OR: 0.1, p < 0.01); and it is positively associated with higher levels of health literacy (OR: 3.66, p > 0.01). Additionally, having some knowledge and information about entomophagy is inversely associated with a higher level of disgust (OR: 0.44, p = 0.03 and OR: 0.25, p = 0.03, respectively), while being female is positively associated with disgust (OR: 3.26, p < 0.01). Our results suggest the potential role of health literacy, in addition to other factors, in influencing the willingness to taste insects. However, further studies involving larger and non-convenience samples are needed to confirm our hypothesis.

scholarly journals Jazz and Music-Hall Transgressions in Theatre Workshop's Production of A Taste of Honey

2007 ◽  
Vol 23 (4) ◽  
pp. 331-336
Author(s):  
Alec Patton
Keyword(s):  
The West ◽  
Music Hall ◽  
The Right ◽  
Original Production ◽  
The University

Shelagh Delaney's A Taste of Honey in the Theatre Workshop production of 1959 opened to the sound of a fast twelve-bar blues played on trumpet, saxophone, and guitar by musicians sitting in a box to the right of the stage. Though rarely mentioned by historians, the ‘Apex Jazz Trio’, as they were called, were a lively and unpredictable element in the production. Between the actors' open acknowledgement of the band, and Avis Bunnage's direct comments to the audience, the play shattered the ’realistic‘ conventions that still held sway in the West End, at the same time transgressing the distinction between ‘serious’ theatre and music hall (where the boundary of the proscenium was never respected obsequiously). Alec Patton, a PhD student at the University of Sheffield, draws on original interviews with actors from the cast, a member of the first-night audience, and the leader of the band that accompanied the show to offer a re-assessment of the role of music and music hall in the original production of A Taste of Honey.

scholarly journals Autistic Traits Predict Social-Contact Uncertainty in University Students

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Bertrams ◽  
Myriam Zäch
Keyword(s):  
Social Anxiety ◽  
University Students ◽  
Social Contact ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Socially Anxious ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The University

Social anxiety (alternatively: social-contact uncertainty) in the university context can lead to reduced health, well-being, and performance, and can even cause premature leaving of education. With the present study, we intended to supplement cross-sectional studies on students' autistic traits and social anxiety with longitudinal findings. We measured autistic traits and social-contact uncertainty of 118 university students on two occasions, roughly 1 year apart. Correlation, multiple regression, and cross-lagged analyses showed that more pronounced autistic traits predicted higher future social-contact uncertainty. Social-contact uncertainty did not predict autistic traits. We conclude that university students who are high in autistic traits tend not only to be more socially anxious at the moment but have a heightened risk of still being so in the future.

ORISS

2005 ◽  
pp. 260-276 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Giesecke ◽  
Gerriet Reents
Keyword(s):  
Information Systems ◽  
Geographic Information Systems ◽  
Geographic Information ◽  
Traditional Methods ◽  
Web Based ◽  
Internet Technologies ◽  
Project Group ◽  
The University ◽  
The Web

In this chapter, we present the Web-based carpooling system ORISS, which was initially developed by a student project group at University of Oldenburg. It is currently being deployed at Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg with support of the DBU (Federal German Foundation for the Environment). We describe the role of carpools in traffic, particularly in commuter traffic, and show perspectives of an increased usage of carpools. A significant impact on the eco-balance of the university can be expected. We explain how Internet technologies and geographic information systems can be used for the arrangement of carpools, and show advantages over traditional methods of carpooling. The concrete architecture of ORISS and the algorithms used are outlined. We conclude the chapter by describing the circumstances of deployment and propose possible future extensions of the system.

Student Satisfaction Approach for Enhancing University Competitiveness

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 31-54
Author(s):  
Booysen Sabeho Tubulingane ◽  
Neeta Baporikar
Keyword(s):  
Student Satisfaction ◽  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
The Core ◽  
The World ◽  
Quantitative Descriptive ◽  
Teaching Learning ◽  
The Right ◽  
The University

Universities contribute to the creation of a knowledgeable and skilled national workforce. The world over, universities are hailed as one of the old forms of organizations that have been instrumental in contributing to the development of many nations by producing skilled and intellectual human resources needed to produce goods and services. For this role fulfillment, the universities must ensure student satisfaction as students are the core of the very existence of universities and most important stakeholders in the higher education scenario. Moreover, student satisfaction is likely to enhance not only the better teaching-learning process, knowledge transfer, but also the competitiveness of the universities. This is all the more relevant and probably the best way to adopt for the university to play their role effectively and also is competitive in emerging economies. Hence, adopting a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional research methodology, this study aims to deliberate on how student satisfaction is the right approach and can drive university competitiveness.

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