Research has shown that ethical issues are a significant source of stress for nurses and one of the reasons nurses give for leaving the profession. There has been little systematic investigation around the kinds of issues faced by public health nurses and still less on how ethical decision-making in public health nursing might be enhanced. This was a three phased study designed to examine ethical issues in public health nursing with the intent to develop a supportive decision-making model. Using individual interviews and focus groups with nurses and subsequent focus groups with administrators, frequently ocurring ethical practice issues were identified and systems issues supporting ethical practice were illuminated. Analysis revealed that nurses seldom identified classical ethical dilemmas but instead described moral questions related to how they could optimize the "good" in given situations when serving clients at individual, family and community levels while working in a network of relationships in a hierarchical system plagued by diminished resources. In this presentation we will elaborate on the study findings with a focus on the practical implications and describe how this approach to research is morally consistent with one of the basic tenets of public health nursing: empowerment through involvement and understanding. A further objective will be to examine whether the issues and the supportive practice model might cross international boundaries and health care systems.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to: 1. identify frequently occurring ethical issues in public health nursing practice 2. speculate on the further transferance of selected ethical issues to their own practice experiences 3. evaluate the potential support of the decision-making model to their own practices
Keywords: Ethics, Decision-Making
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.