Ebrahim Falahati, Mousa Alavi, Mohsen Shahriari,
Volume 17, Issue 0 (Supplement of 11th Annual Iranian Congress of Medical Ethics 2024)
Abstract
While ethical conflict is an internal and individual experience, it is significantly influenced by environmental factors and variables. It describes a situation characterized by a discrepancy or conflict between the ethical values of caregivers, between caregivers and patients, or within the individual caregiver regarding the morally right course of action, often leading to ambiguity regarding duties and obligations. This research aimed to elucidate the factors associated with ethical conflict within the nursing context. This qualitative study employed conventional content analysis. Participants included 27 nurses working in various clinical departments, including emergency, intensive care, internal medicine, and surgery. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured individual interviews conducted after obtaining written informed consent. Data analysis was performed using MAXQDA version 20 software, adhering to Granheim and Lundman's approach. To enhance the rigor of the study, the criteria of credibility, confirmability, dependability, and transferability proposed by Lincoln and Guba were applied. Decision-making challenges within the context of care emerged as a central theme. Several factors were identified as contributing to ethical conflict in nursing care, including disrupted relationships, inefficient management systems, physician prioritization, conflicts of interest, legal constraints, a negative ethical climate, and insufficient resources. Nurses, as primary patient advocates, are consistently exposed to various ethical conflicts within their practice. This study highlights the critical importance of addressing decision-making challenges within the context of care for policymakers within the healthcare system. Reducing these conflicts is crucial for improving the quality of nursing care.
Mahrokh Keshvari, Negar Farajzadeh, Mohsen Shahriari, Mohammad Azadmanesh, Aliasghar Jamalinasab,
Volume 17, Issue 0 (Supplement of 11th Annual Iranian Congress of Medical Ethics 2024)
Abstract
Nursing and midwifery professors play a crucial role in transmitting societal norms, providing cultural experiences, shaping students' behavior, beliefs, and attitudes, and cultivating moral virtues. As significant influencers on students' moral development during their academic journey, careful attention to this aspect is essential. This study aimed to elucidate the ethical challenges encountered by faculty members within the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery. This qualitative study employed content analysis. Purposive sampling was utilized to select 23 faculty members from the Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery at Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, with data collection spanning eight months. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews and analyzed using conventional qualitative content analysis. Continuous and comparative data analysis revealed three primary categories of ethical challenges perceived by faculty members: discrimination and injustice, low professional commitment, and unprofessional behavior.
· Discrimination and injustice: This category encompassed three subcategories: disparities in rule implementation across faculties and groups, unfair financial compensation, and inequitable distribution of academic units and points.
· Low professional commitment: This category included two subcategories: educational underselling and non-adherence to established rules by faculty members.
· Unprofessional behavior: This category comprised two subcategories: unhealthy competition among faculty members and inappropriate student evaluations.
The experiences of faculty members in this study highlighted the presence of numerous challenges, with ethical issues significantly impacting their performance and motivation. The identified ethical challenges primarily revolved around discrimination and injustice, low professional commitment, and unprofessional behavior. Given the pivotal role of faculty members in teaching ethical principles and actively addressing ethical challenges, it is imperative for administrators and officials to acknowledge these concerns and implement strategies to mitigate these issues.
Mohsen Shahriari, Maryam Sadat Hashemi, Arash Najimi, Mohammad Zare Reshkoieh,
Volume 18, Issue 1 (3-2025)
Abstract
The fundamental nature of nursing care lies in maintaining patients’ human dignity. Protecting the dignity and high value of humanity is the focus of the nursing profession. This study aimed to compare the effectiveness of mobile application-based and webinar-based professional ethics education on maintaining patient dignity among nursing students. This was a quasi-experimental study with a two-group pretest-posttest design involving 90 undergraduate nursing students. One group received professional ethics education via webinars, while the other received training through a mobile application-based program. Data were collected using a demographic information form and a questionnaire assessing nursing students’ views on maintaining patient dignity. The findings showed that before training, the mean total scores for human dignity were 99.96 ± 17.43 in the webinar group and 99.59 ± 16.28 in the mobile application group, with no statistically significant difference (p=0.62). After training, the mean human dignity score was significantly higher in the mobile application group (111.15±14.69) than in the webinar group (104.34 ± 15.38), and this difference was statistically significant (p=0.02). The findings indicated that professional ethics education delivered via a mobile application was associated with a greater improvement in nursing students’ views on patient dignity compared to webinar-based education. Mobile-based education offers a self-directed, flexible learning method, enabling students to have continuous access to educational content without time or place restrictions. It is recommended that medical universities in Iran consider developing and integrating educational applications into their curricula.
