Assessment of ethical competence among clinical nurses in health facilities

2021 ◽  
pp. 096973302110102
Author(s):  
Veronica Mary Maluwa ◽  
Alfred Ochanza Maluwa ◽  
Gertrude Mwalabu ◽  
Gladys Msiska

Background: Ethical competence in nursing practice helps clinical nurses to think critically, analyse issues, make ethical decisions, solve ethical problems and behave ethically in their daily work. Thus, ethical competence contributes to the promotion of high-quality care. However, studies on ethical competence in Malawi are scanty. Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore ethical competence among clinical nurses in selected hospitals in Malawi. Methodology: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in four selected hospitals in Malawi with a sample of 271 clinical nurses. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, which included a Moral Competence Scale for Home Care Nurses. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were computed for the dataset using STATA version 12.0. Ethical consideration: The study protocol complied with all ethical requirements and was approved by the College of Medicine Research Ethics Committee under the University of Malawi. Results: The clinical nurses in Malawi are ethically competent. However, there is a significantly high number (p < 0.05) of nurses 57% (n = 135) with low ethical competence. There was no significant association between respondents’ demographic variables and level of ethical competence (p > 0.05). Three determinants of high ethical competence level (strong will, judgement skills and recognition of discrepancy of intention) were identified through a reduced model after stepwise logistic regression analysis. Furthermore, results show that indicators of ethical competence include caring, confidentiality and observance of nurses dressing code. The study has also confirmed that the Moral Competence Scale for Home Care Nurses is a reliable tool to assess ethical competence in low-resource settings. Conclusion: The majority of nurses who completed the survey had low ethical competence. However, clinical nurses with high ethical competence level are required to competently manage complex ethical challenges in health facilities. Strategies for enhancing ethical competence such as continuing ethics education, establishment of ethics committees and provision of supportive supervision are recommended to enable nurses in Malawi attain a high level of ethical competence.

2013 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyomi Asahara ◽  
Wakanako Ono ◽  
Maasa Kobayashi ◽  
Junko Omori ◽  
Hiromi Todome

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Moral Competence Scale for Home Care Nurses (MCSHCN). Methods: A self-administered questionnaire that included the preliminary MCSHCN (90 items) was distributed to home care nurses (HCNs) in Japan. Usable data (from 1,961 questionnaires) were analyzed. Results: Item and exploratory factor analysis for the MCSHCN revealed 45 items that loaded on 5 factors. This 5-factor model showed reasonable fit to the data by confirmatory factor analysis (root mean square error of approximation [RMSEA] = 0.070). Thus, the model closely corresponded to the theoretical components of moral competence. Cronbach’s alpha ranged from .78 to .93. Conclusions: The construct validity and internal consistency reliability were supported. Further research is needed to refine this scale to increase the generalizability.


2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiyomi Asahara ◽  
Wakanako Ono ◽  
Maasa Kobayashi ◽  
Junko Omori ◽  
Hiromi Todome

1980 ◽  
Vol 19 (01) ◽  
pp. 42-49 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. W. Brown ◽  
C. Engelhard ◽  
J. Haipern ◽  
J. F. Fries ◽  
L. S. Coles

In solving a clinical problem of diagnosis, prognosis, or treatment choice, a physician must select from among a large group of possible tests. In general, an ordering exists specifying which tests are most valuable in providing relevant information concerning the problem on hand. The computer program package to be described (MW) extracts appropriate data from the ARAMIS data banks and then analyzes the data by stepwise logistic regression. A binary outcome (diagnosis, prognostic event, or treatment response) is sequentially associated with possible tests, and the most powerful combination of tests is identified. For example, the most valuable predictor variable of early mortality in SLE is proteinuria, followed sequentially by anemia and absence of arthritis. Experience with these techniques suggests : 1. optimal certainty is usually reached after only three or four tests; 2. several different test sequences may lead to the same level of certainty; 3. diagnosis may usually be ascertained with greater certainty than prognosis; 4. many medical problems contain considerable non-reducible uncertainty; 5. a relatively small group of tests are typically found among the most powerful; 6. results are consistent across several patient populations; 7. results are largely independent of the particular statistic employed. These observations suggest strategies for maximizing information while minimizing risk and expense.


2019 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nilgun Yurtsever ◽  
Medine Yilmaz

Owing to the nature of their jobs, nurses all over the world experience burnout. The aim of this descriptive and correlational study was to describe the job characteristics, job satisfaction and burnout levels of home care nurses, and to predict what factors contributed to their job satisfaction and burnout levels. The study population consisted of 80 nurses working in home care units. Of them, 71 participated in the study. A socio-demographic questionnaire, the Minnesota Satisfaction Scale and the Maslach Burnout Inventory were used. Of the participants, 85.9 per cent were female, 56.4 per cent had a bachelor’s degree, and 46.5 per cent were employed in the public sector, 36.6 per cent in municipalities and 16.9 per cent in the private sector. The results revealed that their burnout levels for emotional exhaustion and personal accomplishment were high, and moderate for depersonalisation. Perceived work-related stress was more associated with emotional exhaustion and depersonalisation than with work satisfaction. Home healthcare nurses were suffering from high levels of burnout. Interventions are needed to improve job satisfaction, to reduce the burden of burnout among nurses, and to prevent them from leaving their jobs and retiring earlier.


Author(s):  
Edmund J.Y. Pajarillo

Information and knowledge-seeking vary among users, including home care nurses. This research describes the social, cultural and behavioral dimensions of information and knowledge-seeking among home care nurses, using both survey and case study methods. Results provide better understanding and appreciation of nurses’ information behavior.La recherche d’information et de connaissances varie selon les usagers, y compris parmi les infirmiers et infirmières des soins à domicile. Cette recherche décrit les dimensions sociales, culturelles et comportementales de la recherche d’information et de connaissances parmi les infirmiers et infirmières des soins à domicile, en utilisant les méthodes de sondage et de l’étude de cas. Les résultats offrent une meilleure compréhension et connaissance du comportement informationnel des infirmiers et infirmières. 


2019 ◽  
Vol 2019 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luca Giannella ◽  
Lillo Bruno Cerami ◽  
Tiziano Setti ◽  
Ezio Bergamini ◽  
Fausto Boselli

Objective. To create a prediction model including clinical variables for the prediction of premalignant/malignant endometrial pathology in premenopausal women with abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). Methods. This is an observational retrospective study including 240 premenopausal women with AUB referred to diagnostic hysteroscopy. Based on the presence of endometrial hyperplasia (EH) or cancer (EC), the women were divided into cases (EH/EC) and controls (no EH/EC). Univariate, stepwise logistic regression and ROC curve analysis were performed. Results. 12 women had EH/EC (5%). Stepwise logistic regression analysis showed that EH/EC associated significantly with BMI ≥ 30 (OR=7.70, 95% CI 1.90 to 31.17), diabetes (OR=9.71, 95% CI 1.63 to 57.81), and a thickened endometrium (OR=1.20, 95% CI 1.08 to 1.34, criterion > 11 mm). The AUC was 0.854 (95% confidence intervals 0.803 to 0.896, p<0.0001). Considering the pretest probability for EH/EC of 5%, the prediction model with a positive likelihood ratio of 8.14 showed a posttest probability of 30%. The simultaneous presence of two or three risk factors was significantly more common in women with EH/EC than controls (50% vs. 6.6 and 25% vs. 0%, respectively, p<0.0001). Conclusion. When premenopausal vaginal bleeding occurs in diabetic obese women with ET > 11 mm, the percentage of premalignant/malignant endometrial pathology increases by 25%. It is likely that the simultaneous presence of several risk factors is necessary to significantly increase the probability of endometrial pathology.


Author(s):  
Lorna Ferguson

Missing person reports from hospitals and mental health facilities are a significant issue impacting patients, communities, and health and police sectors. Research on missing persons seldom considers the type of location from where people go missing, which can be troublesome due to the increased chances for experiencing harm during an episode from hospitals and mental health facilities. When location type is studied, these often remarkably different places are frequently blended together in analyses and discussions. This conflation has implications for research and the development of effective police preventive responses. To begin to address this gap, this study uses descriptive analysis and logistic regression to examine the descriptive and predictive profiles of those reported missing from hospitals versus those reported missing from mental health units. For this, data are taken from a sample of 916 closed missing person cases reported to a Canadian municipal police service over five years. Results suggest there are significant differences in both the descriptive and predictive profiles of individuals reported missing from these two location types, such as individuals with varying mental health and cognitive issues going missing from each place, respectively. Given the findings, the implications for research, policing, and risk management are discussed.


Author(s):  
Magaji Garba Taura ◽  
Lawan Hassan Adamu ◽  
Abdullahi Yusuf Asuku ◽  
Kabiru Bilkisu Umar ◽  
Musa Abubakar

Abstract Background Sex determination is one of the leading criterion in identification and verification of an individual. However, the potential roles of differences in adjacent fingerprint white line count (FWLC) in sex inference are not well elucidated in the literature especially among Hausa population. The study was conducted to determine sexual dimorphism and predict sex using adjacent digit FWLC difference (adj. DFWLCD) among Hausa population of Kano state, Nigeria. Methods The study population involved 300 participants. FWLC was determined from a plain fingerprint captured using live scanner. The formula for adj. DFWLCD of thumb and fifth digit is dR15 for right hand. The same applied for possible combination in cephalocaudal direction. Mann-Whitney and t tests were used for comparison of variables between sexes. Binary logistic regression analyses were employed for determination of sex. Results We observed a significantly larger adj. DFWLCD in males compared with females in most of the digit combination. A significant sexual dimorphism was observed in most of the adj. DFWLCD involving ring digit in both right (dR14, dR24, and dR34) and left (dL14, dL24, and dL34). The best discrimination was observed in adjacent FWLC difference of second and fourth digits in both right and left digits (dR24 and dL24). This was further supported by stepwise logistic regression analyses. Conclusion The adj. DFWLCD exhibits sexual dimorphism. The best prediction potentials were found to be dR24 and dL24 for right and left hands respectively.


Author(s):  
Zeying Huang ◽  
Di Zeng

China has the highest mortality rate caused by diseases and conditions associated with its high-salt diet. Since 2016, China has initiated a national salt reduction campaign that aims at promoting the usage of salt information on food labels and salt-restriction spoons and reducing condiment and pickled food intake. However, factors affecting individuals’ decisions to adopt these salt reduction measures remain largely unknown. By comparing the performances of logistic regression, stepwise logistic regression, lasso logistic regression and adaptive lasso logistic regression, this study aims to fill this gap by analyzing the adoption behaviour of 1610 individuals from a nationally representative online survey. It was found that the practices were far from adopted and only 26.40%, 22.98%, 33.54% and 37.20% reported the adoption of labelled salt information, salt-restriction spoons, reduced condiment use in home cooking and reduced pickled food intake, respectively. Knowledge on salt, the perceived benefits of salt reduction, participation in nutrition education and training programs on sodium reduction were positively associated with using salt information labels. Adoption of the other measures was largely explained by people’s awareness of hypertension risks and taste preferences. It is therefore recommended that policy interventions should enhance Chinese individuals’ knowledge of salt, raise the awareness of the benefits associated with a low-salt diet and the risks associated with consuming excessive salt and reshape their taste choices.


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