Person‐centredness is common speak in nursing and health care literature. Increasingly there is an expectation that practitioners adopt person‐centred principles in their practice and organizations are expected to respect the values of the service user. However, in the research methodology literature, there is little explicit attention paid to the concept of person‐centredness in research practice. Instead, there continues to be a reliance on traditional ‘ethical principles’ to guide effectiveness in research work. This paper argues that the principles (...) of person‐centredness that are espoused in nursing practice should also underpin nursing and health care research. A framework for person‐centred research is proposed and issues concerning its implementation in practice are discussed. (shrink)

Background: Clinical research nurses experience unique challenges in the context of their role that can lead to conflict and moral distress. Although examined in many areas, moral distress has not been studied in clinical research nurses. Research aim: The aim of this study was to examine moral distress in clinical research nurses and the relationship between moral distress scores and demographic characteristics of clinical research nurses. Research design: This was a descriptive quantitative study to (...) measure moral distress in clinical research nurses using the Measure of Moral Distress – Healthcare Professionals (MMD-HP) administered electronically. Demographic data were also collected. Participants and research context: Registered nurses working in the clinical research nurse role ( N = 322) were recruited through use of social media, emails, digital flyers, and snowball recruitment. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Pearson’s correlation, independent t-test, and one-way ANOVA were performed to explore differences among the demographic variables. Ethical considerations: This study was approved by the Institutional Review Board at Texas Woman’s University. A consent statement was included, and completion of the questionnaire was construed as consent. Findings/results: Analysis revealed a mean overall moral distress score of 79.58 (SD = 64.27) and median of 67, with a range of 0–354. Moral distress scores were negatively correlated with clinical research nurse age ( r = 0-.156, p < 0.05). Reliability of the MMD-HP was demonstrated with a Cronbach’s alpha of 0.93. Conclusions: The findings demonstrate that clinical research nurses do experience moral distress and revealed a wide range of scores. Further research is necessary to determine potential patient impact due to moral distress and to develop processes to minimize moral distress in the clinical research setting. This study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the digital recruitment methods proved effective in recruiting a wide range of clinical research nurses, both nationally and internationally. (shrink)

In spite of the growing interest in nursing ethics, few studies have focused on ethical dilemmas experienced by nurses working with clinical studies as ‘research nurses’. The aim of the present study was to describe and explore ethical dilemmas that Swedish research nurses experience in their day-to-day work. In a qualitative study a purposeful sample of six research nurses from five wards of differing disciplines in four Swedish hospitals was interviewed. The analysis displayed several examples of ethical (...) dilemmas, primarily tensions between the nurses’ obligations to the study and to the patients involved. A guiding moral principle for the nurses was patient-centeredness, where the interest of research must not override the interest of the patient. In situations where tensions between research and patient interests occurred, and doctors and nurses disagreed upon the judgement, the nurses sometimes chose to follow the doctors’ advice, and thus acted against their own moral judgment. Such situations seemed to create feelings of moral distress among the nurses. They described their profession as being ‘invisible’ and as lacking opportunities for ethical competence building. The conclusion is that research nurses frequently experience severe and difficult ethical dilemmas in their daily work. They need to be acknowledged as a particular profession in the health care organisation and encouraged to develop their specific ethical competence. (shrink)

Background:Clinical investigation is a growing field employing increasing numbers of nurses. This has created a new specialty practice defined by aspects unique to nursing in a clinical research context: the objectives, setting, and nature of the nurse–participant relationship. The clinical research nurse role may give rise to feelings of ethical conflict between aspects of protocol implementation and the duty of patient advocacy, a primary nursing responsibility. Little is known about whether research nurses experience unique ethical (...) challenges distinct from those experienced by nurses in traditional patient-care settings.Research objectives:The purpose of the study was to describe the nature of ethical challenges experienced by clinical research nurses within the context of their practice.Research design:The study utilized a qualitative descriptive design with individual interviews.Participants and research context:Participating nurses self-identified as having experienced ethical challenges during screening. The majority were Caucasian, female, and worked in outpatient settings. Approximately 50% had > 10 years of research experience.Ethical considerations:The human subjects review board approved the study. Written informed consent was obtained.Findings:Predominant themes were revealed: the inability to provide a probable good, or/do no harm, and dual obligations. The following patterns and subthemes emerged: conflicted allegiances between protocol implementation, needs of the participant, desire to advance science, and tension between the nurse–patient therapeutic relationship versus the research relationship.Discussion:Participants described ethical challenges specific to the research role. The issues are central to the nurse–participant relationship, patient advocacy, the nurse’s role in implementing protocols, and/or advancing science.Conclusion:Ethical challenges related to the specialized role of clinical research nurses were identified. More research is warranted to fully understand their nature and frequency and to identify support systems for resolution. (shrink)

The aim of the present study was to describe and explore the perception of ethical guidelines and their role in ethical competence-building among Swedish physicians and research nurses. Twelve informants were interviewed in depth. The results demonstrated that the informants had a critical attitude towards ethical guidelines and claimed to make little use of them in practical moral judgements. Ethical competence was seen primarily as character-building, related to virtues such as being empathic, honest and loyal to patients. Ethical competence (...) was assumed to be learned through good examples, role models and practical experience, while ethical guidelines were not perceived as valuable in this process. In order to improve the staff's familiarity with and the usability of ethical guidelines, the workplace needs to provide opportunities for ethical dialogues. In such discussions, argumentation can improve, virtues can be developed and guidelines can be usefully invoked. (shrink)

Background:An ethical, informed consent process requires that potential participants understand the study, their rights, and the risks and benefits. Yet, despite strategies to improve communication, many participants still lack understanding of potential risks and benefits. Investigating attitudes and practices of research nurses can identify ways to improve the informed consent process.Research question:What are the attitudes, practices, and preparedness of nurses involved in the informed consent process regarding communication of risks and benefits?Research design:A survey was developed and administered (...) online to a national purposive sample of 107 research nurses with experience obtaining informed consent for clinical trials. Survey responses stratified by selected work-related characteristics were analyzed.Ethical considerations:Participants were instructed they need not answer each question and could stop at any time. They consented by clicking “accept” on the email which linked to the survey. The study was approved by the Northeastern University Institutional Review Board, Boston, Massachusetts.Findings:Most research nurses used a teach-back method to assess participant comprehension, while 72% relied on their intuition. About one-third did not feel prepared to communicate related statistics. About 20% did not feel prepared to tailor information, and half did not feel competent using supplemental materials to enhance risks and benefits comprehension. Only 70% had received training in the informed consent process which included in-person training, case studies, online courses, feedback during practice sessions, and simulation, such as role playing and viewing videos. Perceived preparedness was significantly associated with greater informed consent experience and training.Conclusion:Research nurses may have inadequate training to encourage, support, and reinforce communication of risks and benefits during the informed consent process. Relevant purposeful education and training should help to improve and standardize the ethical informed consent process. (shrink)

Nurses involved in research are concerned with methodological issues. This paper explores the Cartesian debate that has polarized the discourse on nursing research methodology. It is argued that methodologies exclusively based on objectivism, one pole of the Cartesian debate, or subjectivism, the other, do not provide nurses with adequate research foundations to understand the complexity of the lifeworld of nursing practice. This paper provides nurse researchers with an alternative methodological perspective, Gadamerian hermeneutics, which is in harmony (...) with the clinical world of nursing practice. (shrink)

The nurse perspective is critical in survey research investigating various aspects of healthcare services, staff, and patient outcomes. Researchers are responsible for ensuring that survey research utilizing survey questionnaires employs research methodological strategies that are aligned with the ethical principles of beneficence, respect for persons, and justice. The purpose of this paper is to discuss best practices to facilitate high-quality survey data collection for nurse survey participants. Recommendations are based on the fundamental ethical principles described (...) in the Belmont Report, an overview of evidence published in the current literature, and the application of practical knowledge. Literature searches conducted in PubMed resulted in the inclusion of over 50 articles from a wide range of disciplines. The results include actionable methods for researchers to consider and follow when conducting survey research utilizing nurse participants. This article serves as a resource to guide researchers through ethically responsible design, implementation, and reporting of nurse survey research. (shrink)

A standard view would suggest that research is a neutral apolitical activity. It neutralizes external pressures by its fidelity to robust scientific methods. However, politics is an inevitable part of human knowledge. Our knowledge of the world is always mediated by human priorities. What matters is therefore a contested and political debate rather a neutral accumulation of factual data. How researchers manage this varies. Research paradigms are one way in which research engages with knowledge. They frame knowledge (...) within epistemological and ontological philosophies. In this paper, I will explore this view in relation to neo‐positivism, qualitative research, Foucault and critical realism. I will argue that if nursing knowledge is to be effective it needs to acknowledge the political, particularly in the context of neoliberalism. Healthcare systems are having to cope with a social world increasingly dominated by market fundamentalism, extreme levels of inequality and a rise in xenophobia. These forces are undermining the provision of ethically sound health care, misdirecting research practice and contributing to a discourse of dehumanization. These forces need to be challenged politically and I will argue that epistemologically diverse approaches, alongside a realist ontology can provide a way forward for nursing research. (shrink)

The researcher : researching and developing ourselves -- The participant : responsibility, care and consideration -- Relational ethics : the relationship between the researcher and the participant -- Establishing trust : the fundamental ingredients -- Research dilemmas, decisions and details -- Research ethics committees : structures and procedures -- The social and political contexts of research and the ethics of dissemination.

As professionals, nurses are engaged in a moral endeavour, and thus confront many challenges in making the right decision and taking the right action. When nurses cannot do what they think is right, they experience moral distress that leaves a moral residue. This article proposes a theory of moral distress and a research agenda to develop a better understanding of moral distress, how to prevent it, and, when it cannot be prevented, how to manage it.

Based on action research as a practitioner‐involving approach, this article communicates the findings of a two‐year study on implementing patient participation as an empowering learning process for both patients and rehabilitation nurses. At a rehabilitation facility for patients who have sustained spinal cord injuries, eight nurses were engaged throughout the process aiming at improving patient participation. The current practice was explored to understand possibilities and obstacles to patient participation. Observations, interviews and logbooks, creative workshops and reflective meetings led to (...) the development and testing of four new rehabilitation initiatives aimed at enhancing patient participation. This study suggests that skills of critical reflection from action research toolbox shed light on both the notion of patient participation and caring in nursing rehabilitation. By actively involving nurses in research, the knowledge development stems from practice and the solutions therefore became practice‐oriented. In addition, the personal and professional development experienced by the involved nurses points to a secondary gain in the form of an analytical and reflective approach to complex issues in relation to patient participation, rehabilitation in general and the individual nurses' sense of professional pride. (shrink)

Hermeneutic research in nursing: developing a Gadamerian‐based research method This paper takes the stance that although there are many different approaches to phenomenological and hermeneutic research, some of these have become blurred due to multiple interpretations of translated materials. Working from original texts by the German philosophers, this paper reconsiders the relevance of phenomenology and hermeneutics to nursing research. We trace the development of Gadamer's philosophy in order to propose a research method based in this (...) tradition. Five steps have been identified as a guide for nurse researchers. These are deciding upon a question, identification of preunderstandings, gaining understanding through dialogue with participants, gaining understanding through dialogue with text and establishing trustworthiness. (shrink)

Paul Ricoeur's hermeneutic phenomenology has proved to be very helpful in guiding nursing researchers’ qualitative analysis of interview transcripts. Modifying Ricoeur's philosophy, a number of nursing researchers have developed their own interpretive methods and shared them, along with their experience, with research community. Major contributors who published papers directly presenting their modifications of Ricoeur's theory include Rene Geanellos (2000), Lena Wiklund, Lisbet Lindholm and Unni Å. Lindström (2002), Anders Lindseth and Astrid Norberg (2004) and Pia Sander Dreyer and Birthe (...) D Pedersen (2009). The aim of this article was to delineate differences among these methods. Descriptive presentation of each method side by side makes clear the differences among them. In addition, Ricoeur's hermeneutic theory is portrayed and compared with the modifications. It is believed that differences that are found can stimulate further thoughts on how to apply Ricoeur's theory in qualitative research in nursing. (shrink)

Background: Legislative changes are resulting in assisted death as an option for people at the end of life. Although nurses’ experiences and perspectives are underrepresented within broader ethical discourses about assisted death, there is a small but significant body of literature examining nurses’ experiences of caring for people who request this option. Aim: To synthesize what has been learned about nurses’ experiences of caring for patients who request assisted death and to highlight what is morally at stake for nurses who (...) undertake this type of care. Design: Qualitative meta-synthesis. Methods: Six databases were searched: CINAHL, Medline, EMBASE, Joanna Briggs Institute, PsycINFO, and Web of Science. The search was completed on 22 October 2014 and updated in February 2016. Of 879 articles identified from the database searches, 16 articles were deemed relevant based on inclusion criteria. Following quality appraisal, 14 studies were retained for analysis and synthesis. Results: The moral experience of the nurse is defined by a profound sense of responsibility, shaped by contextual forces that nurses navigate in everyday end-of-life care practice, and sustained by intra-team moral and emotional support. Discussion: The findings of this synthesis support the view that nurses are moral agents who are deeply invested in the moral integrity of end-of-life care involving assisted death. The findings further demonstrate that to fully appreciate the ethics of assisted death from a nursing standpoint, it is necessary to understand the broader constraints on nurses’ moral agency that operate in everyday end-of-life care. Ethical considerations: Research ethics board approval was not required for this synthesis of previously published literature. Conclusion: In order to understand how to enact ethical practice in the area of assisted death, the moral experiences of nurses should be investigated and foregrounded. (shrink)

The aim of this review was to analyse the empirical studies that focus on ethics in nursing care for older people, scoping the need and areas for further study. A search of the MEDLINE and CINAHL databases (earliest to August 2009) was conducted using the the keywords: ethic* and nursing or care or caring and elderly or aged or older. After a four-stage process, 71 empirical articles were included in the review, with informants ranging from elderly people to relatives, caregivers, (...) managers and students in care settings. The review focusses on the concepts, contexts, methods and validity of these studies. Based on the analysis, the reviewed research seems to be fragmented and multifaceted, focussing on selected issues such as autonomy, self-determination and informed consent. No large research programs or research traditions were found so it was not possible to draw any conclusions about suitable methods, study designs or instruments of measurement for use in this research area. (shrink)

Critical thinking is a complex, dynamic process formed by attitudes and strategic skills, with the aim of achieving a specific goal or objective. The attitudes, including the critical thinking attitudes, constitute an important part of the idea of good care, of the good professional. It could be said that they become a virtue of the nursing profession. In this context, the ethics of virtue is a theoretical framework that becomes essential for analyse the critical thinking concept in nursing care and (...) nursing science. Because the ethics of virtue consider how cultivating virtues are necessary to understand and justify the decisions and guide the actions. Based on selective analysis of the descriptive and empirical literature that addresses conceptual review of critical thinking, we conducted an analysis of this topic in the settings of clinical practice, training and research from the virtue ethical framework. Following JBI critical appraisal checklist for text and opinion papers, we argue the need for critical thinking as an essential element for true excellence in care and that it should be encouraged among professionals. The importance of developing critical thinking skills in education is well substantiated; however, greater efforts are required to implement educational strategies directed at developing critical thinking in students and professionals undergoing training, along with measures that demonstrate their success. Lastly, we show that critical thinking constitutes a fundamental component in the research process, and can improve research competencies in nursing. We conclude that future research and actions must go further in the search for new evidence and open new horizons, to ensure a positive effect on clinical practice, patient health, student education and the growth of nursing science. (shrink)

Nurse researchers are increasingly adopting qualitative methodologies for research practice and theory development. These approaches to research are, in many cases, more appropriate for die field of nursing inquiry than the previously dominant techno‐rational methods. However, there remains the issue of adapting methodologies developed in other academic disciplines to the nursing research context. This paper draws upon my own experience with interpretive research to raise questions about the issue of nursing research within a social (...) science research framework. The paper argues that by integrating the characteristics of nursing practice with the characteristics of research practice, the researcher can develop a ‘nursing lens’, an approach to qualitative research that brings an added dimension to social science methodologies in the nursing research context. Attention is drawn to the unique nature of the nurse‐patient relationship, and the ways in which this aspect of nursing practice can enhance nursing research. Examples are given from interview transcripts to support this position. (shrink)

The concept of social structure is ill defined in the literature despite the perennial problem and ongoing discussion about the relationship between agency and structure. In this paper I will provide an outline of what the term social structure means, but my main focus will be on emphasizing the value of the concept for nursing research and demonstrate how its erasure in some research negatively effects on our understanding of the nurses' role in clinical practice. For example, qualitative (...) research in nursing has largely focused on agency through such theories as phenomenology, hermeneutics, and symbolic interactionism. The result is that social structure may be erased or seen as epiphenomena of agency. My purpose is to provide a theoretical discussion of social structure and how such a discussion can help us to understand how nurses live and experience clinical practice. While not denying the importance of agency, I will argue that the thinned out approach to social structure places limits on our understanding of the constraints nurses experience in their working lives. The result is that nurses' attitudes and clinical failings are individualized, resulting in ever more calls for improved education, when a more thorough examination of structural issues may elucidate more fundamental problems. (shrink)

Nurses working or living near a community disaster have the opportunity to study health‐related consequences to disaster or disaster recovery. In such a situation, the researchers need to deal with the conceptual and methodological issues unique to postdisaster research and know what resources are available to guide them, even if they have no specialized training or previous experience in disaster research. The purpose of this article is to review issues and challenges associated with conducting postdisaster research and (...) encourage nurses to seek resources and seize opportunities to conduct research should the situation arise. Current disaster studies and the authors' personal experiences conducting maternal‐child research in post‐Katrina New Orleans (2005–2013) provide real‐life examples of how health professionals and nurses faced the challenges of doing postdisaster research. After catastrophic events, nurses need to step forward to conduct disaster research that informs and improves future disaster planning and healthcare responses. (shrink)

This comprehensive collection offers a unique look at nursing practice, theory, research and nursing history from various critical theoretical perspectives. It aims to initiate an international discussion among scholars from diverse countries, particularly Germany and Anglo-American countries, coming from distinctive schools of thought, e.g. German Critical theory and Post-structural approaches, and influenced by their respective histories of sciences. This book analyzes and criticizes nursing theory, nursing research and practice along several dimensions: Nursing Ethics, Subjectivity, Body and Flesh (Leib), (...) Technology, Power, History, and Education. (shrink)

This paper describes how an innocent venture outside the confines of academia to update my nursing skills completely changed the focus of my research. I was deeply involved in the theoretical development of my thesis, which I thought was a feminist exploration of the meaning of health for mid‐life women. I was immersed in feminist theory and was exploring the work of the French Feminists. I had written comprehensive draft chapters about nursing, women's bodies and science. While I was (...) absorbed in my theoretical exploration I decided to venture back into practice to improve my nursing skills. I am still unsure why I chose to do this; however, in hindsight, my theoretical exploration was inexorably pushing me in that direction. While my conscious thinking was focused on my stated topic, my subconscious (my intuition) turned me towards another. Being confronted with the reality of nursing practice through working with staff nurses in a gynaecological ward caused a major disjunction in every aspect of my research: the topic, my methodology and the setting, and the experience challenged my feelings about nurses and nursing. This inevitably led to a dramatic and fundamental change in my research. (shrink)

Critical discourse analysis is a useful and productive qualitative methodology but has been underutilized within nursing research. In order to redress this deficiency the research presented in this article represents an exploration of the way in which critical discourse analysis may be applied to the analysis of public debates around policy for nursing practice. In this article the author discusses the history of the application of critical discourse analysis and provides an example of its application to the debate (...) around the use of nurse practitioners within the Australian healthcare system. (shrink)

The notion that genetics, through natural selection, determines innate traits has led to much debate and divergence of thought on the impact of innate traits on the human phenotype. The purpose of this synthesis was to examine how innate theory informs genetic research and how understanding innate theory through the lens of Martha Rogers’ theory of unitary human beings can offer a contemporary view of how innate traits can inform epigenetic and genetic research. We also propose a new (...) conceptual model for genetic and epigenetic research. The philosophical, theoretical, and research literatures were examined for this synthesis. We have merged philosophical and conceptual phenomena from innate theory with the theory of unitary beings into the University of Illinois at Chicago model for genetic and epigenetic research. Innate traits are the cornerstone of the framework but may be modified epigenetically by biological, physiological, psychological, and social determinants as they are transcribed. These modifiers serve as important links between the concept of innate traits and epigenetic modifications, and, like the theory of unitary human beings, the process is understood in the context of individual and environmental interaction that has the potential to evolve as the determinants change. (shrink)

This paper is concerned with the popularity of phenomenologies and the tensions that arise from their use as research methodologies in nursing. Among these tensions are: the troublesome issues of adapting a fundamentally philosophical means of understanding human being(s) for use as a more pragmatic and robust research approach in a practice discipline; the various types of phenomenology and the confusions that surround these and other interpretive methodologies, particularly within different intellectual and cultural traditions; and the need for (...) nursing to find a space in which it can give voice to aspects of its practice that are silenced in less existentially oriented methodologies. Although phenomenologies are currently popular and possibly fashionable in nursing, there are important issues in relation to their use in a methodological sense that remain to be addressed. (shrink)

This article is concerned with ethical issues that have to be considered when under taking qualitative research. Some of the issues - such as informed consent, the dignity and privacy of the research subjects, voluntary participation and protection from harm - are the same as in other types of research and have their basis in moral and ethical principles. Qualitative research, however, generates specific ethical problems because of the close relationship that researchers form with participants. Qualitative (...) research with patients is especially difficult because of their vulnerability and lack of power in the clinical situation. Therefore the potential conflict between the dual role of the nurse - the professional and the research roles - has to be solved. Researchers also learn how to cope with the tension of subjective and objective elements of the research. Nurses who attempt qualitative research have to consider a variety of complex ethical issues, which are addressed in this paper. (shrink)

Transformative ‘cultural shifts’ in nursing: participatory action research and the lsquo;project of possibility’For some time scholars have called for changes in nursing in order to address the subjugated position of nurses within health care. This paper argues that through an engagement with participatory action research, nurses open up a possibility to bring about transformative shifts in nursing culture. The motivation for nurses to engage with this research process arises out of an acknowledgement that they can no longer (...) live with the sense of pain and crisis endemic in much of their nursing practice, and a desire to take action to bring about transformative change within their local ward cultures. However, their participation in critical reflective and collaborative processes that underpin action research exposes an array of minor scattered nursing practices which frustrate possibilities for transformative change. Drawing on empirical accounts from research conducted by the author, the paper argues that once made explicit, these minor practices and the regimes of truth that nurture and sustain them, can be reconstructed and the possibility of transformative cultural shifts in nursing will then emerge. (shrink)

Very few data exist in France on: (1) nurses’ knowledge and behaviour concerning ethical decisions in clinical practice; and (2) their knowledge of ethical rules in clinical research. This questionnaire-based audit tried mainly to assess these questions in a large French university teaching hospital. Of the 257 questionnaires distributed to nurses in 23 clinical units of the hospital, 206 were returned (80% response rate). When responding to the vignette describing a clinical situation requiring an ethical decision to be made, (...) most nurses acted as the patient’s advocate although they have had no formal training in ethics. Indeed, 66% of nurses responding considered that the patients themselves should be the primary decision makers in situations that relate to their health and medical care. For children or comatose patients, the decision should be left to the relatives according to 72% of the responses. The results indicated that the role of health care professionals in ethical decisions made for a given patient should be marginal. Nurses’ knowledge concerning research protocols, particularly their ethical requirements and consequences, is poor at present and information from and communication with doctors should be improved. (shrink)

Very few data exist in France on: nurses’ knowledge and behaviour concerning ethical decisions in clinical practice; and their knowledge of ethical rules in clinical research. This questionnaire-based audit tried mainly to assess these questions in a large French university teaching hospital. Of the 257 questionnaires distributed to nurses in 23 clinical units of the hospital, 206 were returned. When responding to the vignette describing a clinical situation requiring an ethical decision to be made, most nurses acted as the (...) patient’s advocate although they have had no formal training in ethics. Indeed, 66% of nurses responding considered that the patients themselves should be the primary decision makers in situations that relate to their health and medical care. For children or comatose patients, the decision should be left to the relatives according to 72% of the responses. The results indicated that the role of health care professionals in ethical decisions made for a given patient should be marginal. Nurses’ knowledge concerning research protocols, particularly their ethical requirements and consequences, is poor at present and information from and communication with doctors should be improved. (shrink)

Ethical issues in international nursing research are identified and the perspectives of the International Centre for Nursing Ethics are offered in an effort to develop an international consensus of ethical behaviour in research. First, theoretical issues are reviewed, then initial conditions for ethical conduct are defined, and protocol design and procedure considerations are examined. A concerted effort is made to identify and avoid a western bias. Broad guiding principles for designing and reviewing research are offered: (1) respect (...) for persons; (2) beneficence; (3) justice; (4) respect for community; and (5) contextual caring. A collaborative model of the researcher-participant relationship is suggested and discussed. (shrink)

The aim of this paper is to clarify what “phenomenological” means in the phenomenological researches of nursing and what “method” is or should beadopted in phenomenological researches of nursing. The essay first defines a traditional classification of the phenomenological researches of nursing by Cohen and Omery, and then gives a new attempt to classify the phenomenological approaches in the theories of nursing. On this basis, the essay reviews some representative “phenomenological” researches of nursing today and addresses critical comments to them. (...) Finally, the essay will make clear what “phenomenological” should mean in the phenomenological research of nursing and what kind of “method” should be adopted in those researches. (shrink)

Background: A large number of nurse researchers do not adhere to ethical standards while performing the research. Moreover, there is far less data on knowledge of existing national ethical guidelines. This study was, therefore, done to assess awareness and adherence to current national ethical guidelines among nursing students and faculty members. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was done among nursing faculty members and theses carried out by postgraduate nursing students between 2012 and 2017. Using the convenience sampling technique, (...) seven states of North India were selected. In each of the selected seven states, one government and one private nursing college was selected. Thus, a sample of 14 nursing colleges was selected. Then, using simple random sampling, a total of 140 nursing faculty members and 280 postgraduate nursing theses were selected from all the chosen institutes to be part of the study. Data analysis was done using descriptive statistics. Ethical considerations: The study has been approved by the institutional ethical committee. In addition, written permission from the head of each nursing institute was obtained before conducting the study. After participants read the Participation Information Sheet, they were asked for written informed consent before data collection. Confidentiality of the information and anonymity of the participants were maintained throughout the study. Results: The majority of the participants were females. It was found that compared to private nurses, government college nurses were more adhered to the research guidelines on research project approval, informed consent guidelines, providing patient information sheets, maintaining information confidentiality, maintaining anonymity and obtaining custodian permission. It was also shown that nurses were more aware of the informed consent process domain followed by the general ethical principles domain. Conclusion: Government college nurses adhered more to the research guidelines as compared to those employed in private settings. Most of the faculty members were not part of any clinical trials and had no research ethics training at all. Therefore, it is needed to provide an instructional programme to raise awareness of the research ethical standards. (shrink)

Patrick Manson, the so-called father of tropical medicine, played a pivotal role in making that discipline into a specialty. During his early career in China he discovered that the mosquito was the intermediate host of the filarial parasite and he somewhat peculiarly called the mosquito the " nurse " of the filarial worm. The discovery contributed greatly to the intellectual foundation of modern parasitology. In this paper I situate Manson's nomenclature in the context of nineteenth-century biological research on (...) reproductive mechanisms and argue that Manson's concept of the " nurse " was derived from nineteenth-century theories of sexual division of labor in nature's economy. The way he framed the relation between the mosquito and the parasite, moreover, can be understood in the terms of the domestic arrangement of the colonial European household. Manson's research demonstrates the significant exchange between medical concerns over European women's procreative role in the tropics and biological studies of parasitic reproduction. (shrink)

In exploring phenomenological literature, it is evident that the term ‘phenomenology’ holds rather different meanings depending upon the context. Phenomenology has been described as both a philosophical movement and an approach to human science research. The phenomenology of Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Merleau-Ponty was philosophical in nature and not intended to provide rules or procedures for conducting research. The Canadian social scientist, van Manen, however, introduced specific guidelines for conducting human science research, which is rooted in hermeneutic (...) phenomenology and this particular method has been employed in professional disciplines such as education, nursing, clinical psychology, and law. The purpose of this paper is to explore the difference between the phenomenological method as described by van Manen and that of other philosophers such as Husserl, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Merleau-Ponty. In so doing, the author aims to address the blurred boundaries of phenomenology as a research method and as a philosophical movement and highlight the influence of these blurred boundaries on nursing knowledge development. (shrink)

Few would argue with the idea that nursing research should be conducted ethically yet obtaining ethical approval is considered by many to have become unnecessarily burdensome. This brief article investigates the idea that there might be a relationship between the level of perceived burdensomeness of the research ethics application process on the one hand and the character of the nurse‐researcher on the other. Given that nurses are required to be other‐regarding, a nurse who undertakes research (...) primarily for self‐regarding reasons would seem to be acting in ways inconsistent with the aims of nursing as set out in nursing codes. It is suggested that the self‐regarding nurse‐researcher may find the ethics application process more burdensome than the other‐regarding nurse‐researcher who, it is further suggested, is engaged with nursing research as a practice in the technical sense in which that term has been developed by the philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre. (shrink)

Considering the importance of research in the development of nursing, we examine the ethical principles governing nurses' investigative activity, as well as the different codes regulating biomedical investigation with human beings, amongst which are the Nuremberg Code, the Declaration of Human Rights, and the Declaration of Helsinki. From the perspective of the central points of the article reference is made to different codes proposed by international nursing associations, as well as reviewing the Deontological Code of Spanish Nursing. The ethical (...) principles a nurse has to bear in mind in research are analysed, with respect to patients, society and the profession. Finally, we refer to certain ethical aspects to be considered in the elaboration and development of a research project, as well as publication of the results. (shrink)

This article contributes to the current discussion on interdisciplinarity in the health research field. It focuses on the relationship between nursing research and gender research. Nursing research is a ‘health sciences’ field which draws from the social sciences, the humanities, and biomedicine. Previous research shows the difficulties that social scientists face in their efforts to integrate with biomedical scientists. The aim of this article is to analyse nursing researchers’ views about one potential collaboration partner in (...) the social sciences and humanities: gender research. The study draws its theoretical insights from research within the sociology of science. It uses ideas about the intertwining of power and knowledge, which is especially emphasised in the works of Pierre Bourdieu. The research material consists of 180 abstracts of nursing research articles that argue in some way about the relationship between nursing research and gender research. The Scopus database was selected because it covers nursing research in a broad sense. The scope of the study is long. The close reading of abstracts is inspired by rhetorical discourse analysis. We found three clearly different but also overlapping discourses that justified gender perspectives in nursing research: Gender research helps to highlight the socio-political context in nursing research; Gender research develops or reforms the nursing research tradition; and Gender research exists as a form of critique within nursing research. Most of the nursing research abstracts regard gender research positively for both external and internal reasons. The abstracts also demonstrate the tensions in the relationship and discuss the views and reasons that generate scepticism towards gender research in nursing research. (shrink)