OBJECTIVES: To measure the preference regarding disclosure of a serious diagnosis, and its determinants, of the Lebanese public. DESIGN AND SETTING: Non-random sample survey of 400 persons interviewed in health care facilities in Beirut in 1995. RESULTS: Forty-two per cent of respondents generally preferred truth not to be disclosed directly to patients. Preference for disclosure was associated with younger age, better education and tendency to rapport-building with physicians. There were no meaningful associations between place of residence (urban/rural), level of religious (...) practice, or religious affiliation, and preference for disclosure. CONCLUSIONS: Under one plausible interpretation, this survey suggests that the expectation for concealment will decrease as the advantage of knowledge in better coping with disease is understood by an increasingly better educated public, and that the Lebanese public will increasingly come to expect direct and full disclosure of serious diagnoses. (shrink)

a relatively more sympathetic attitude among younger judges, many of them women, and among trainees, may reflect a historical evoluti.

Background:The holistic approach views the human as a bio-psycho-socio-spiritual being. Evidence suggests that among these dimensions, the spiritual one is largely ignored in healthcare settings.Objectives:This study aimed to evaluate Iranian nurses’ perceived professional competence in spiritual care, the relationship between perceived competence and nurses’ personal characteristics, and barriers to provide spiritual care.Research design:A cross-sectional study was conducted in the year 2014.Participants and research context:The study population consisted of nurses working in teaching hospitals in Kashan city. Using a stratified, systematic random (...) method, 250 samples were selected from a total of 1400 nurses. An indigenous instrument was used to assess the nurses’ competencies in spiritual care.Ethical considerations:A research ethics committee approved the study. All the participants were briefed on the study aims, were assured of the confidentiality of their personal information, and signed a written informed consent.Results:Among a total of 250 nurses, 239 answered the questionnaire completely, and in total, 23%, 51%, and 26% had poor, moderate, and favorable competence in spiritual care, respectively. No significant differences were found between the mean competence scores of spiritual care in terms of gender, marital status, employment status, and level of qualification. Significant difference was found between nurses’ overall score of competence in spiritual care and receiving training on spiritual care, nurses’ position, and the ward they worked in.Discussion:Confirming the findings of the international literature, this study puts light on the situation of nurses’ perceived competence and barriers to providing spiritual care in Iran as an eastern and Islamic context.Conclusion:Three-quarters of the nurses had moderate or unfavorable competence in spiritual care. Due to the crucial role of spiritual care in quality of care and patient satisfaction, nurses should be trained and supported to provide spiritual care. (shrink)

Much of the recent scholarship on the problem of political accountability in Africa leans toward the proposition that it is largely a post-colonial phenomenon that was caused by the destruction of the democratic institutions that were inherited by Africa's political elites. By replacing the democratic institutions they inherited from European colonial powers with quasi-democratic and downright despotic structures, it is argued that African elites became increasingly unaccountable and, in the process, destroyed their otherwise robust economies and impoverished the vast majority (...) of their citizens. In reality, however, the problem of political accountability in Africa is far more complex than that in its origins, character and manifestations. This paper critically examines notions and models of political accountability to demonstrate that the sources of the problem of accountability in Africa are both domestic and external. I argue that, contrary to widespread perception that African states suffer from impunity and lack of accountability, African governments have demonstrated a remarkable degree of responsiveness or accountability in their external relations while remaining virtually unaccountable to their own citizens. Therefore, the solution to the problem of political accountability in Africa should include a combination of internal reforms as well as the concerted support of the international community to generate a robust and sustained demand for accountability of African governments to their citizens. (shrink)

Background Many studies have investigated the adherence to professional codes of ethics by nurses. However, no study has explicitly examined the relationship between workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics among Iranian nurses. Objective This study aimed to explore the relationships between workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics among a sample of Iranian nurses. Materials and Methods A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 213 nurses who were randomly selected from the different wards of Shahid Beheshti Hospital (...) of Kashan, Iran. Data collection instruments included a personal characteristics questionnaire, the Nursing Ethics Questionnaire, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index. The Chi-square, the Spearman correlation coefficient, the Kruskal–Wallis, and Mann–Whitney U tests were used to analyze the data. Results A majority of nurses were females, married, and permanently employed. The mean of the overall perceived workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics were 76.36 ± 13.64 and 13.98 ± 2.58, that were at high and moderated level, respectively. Spearman correlation test showed no significant correlation between perceived workload and adherence to professional codes of ethics. A significant difference was found between the mean scores of adherence to professional codes of ethics in nurses working in different departments. Conclusion Participating nurses perceived high levels of workload but their mean adherence to professional codes of ethics was at a moderate level. The perceived workload was indirectly correlated with adherence to professional codes of ethics. (shrink)

This paper discusses the dynamic interplay in the post-revolution era between external phenomena in organizations’ wider socio-cultural environment includingmaterialism, consumerism and ethics along with organizational practices (i.e. corporate social responsibility and cause-related marketing).

sirThe American University of Beirut was established in the last decade of the 19th century and is the only one of three current medical programmes in Lebanon to adopt American curricular standards and English as a language of instruction. A formal course in medical ethics was introduced in 1994, which instructs students in the third year on issues such as truth-telling to patients, within the context of the “paternalism versus autonomy” debate.1–4 Changes of attitude toward cancer disclosure following the introduction (...) of that formal course were measured serially in the same class of AUB medical students as they moved from the first to the fourth medical years. In that four-year interval, students graduated from theoretical courses to clinical contact with patients.Seventy students …. (shrink)

Moral distress (MD) has received considerable attention in the nursing literature over the past few decades. It has been found that high levels of MD can negatively impact nurses, patients, and their family and reduce the quality of patient care. This study aimed to investigate the potentially effective interventions to alleviate MD in critical care nurses. In this systematic review, a broad search of the literature was conducted in the international databases including PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well (...) as Google Scholar search engine using keywords such as moral distress, intensive care unit, ICU, nurses, and critical care nurses from 1984, when the concept of MD was first introduced in the nursing literature, up to 29 October 2020. Studies focusing on the interventions for managing MD in critical care nurse were evaluated. The quality of eligible papers was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) critical appraisal checklist. A total of 8 studies fulfilled the eligibility criteria. Three studies had RCT design and five studies had quasi-experimental design. All studies were conducted in the United States or Iran. Educational workshop, moral empowerment program, social work intervention, nursing ethics huddles, and multifaceted resiliency bundle intervention were effective interventions for managing of MD among critical care nurses. There is limited but promising research evidence evaluating the efficacy of educational interventions for managing of MD among critical care nurses. Although some positive results have been reported, there is limited generalizable evidence due to the variability of interventions. These findings highlight the need for further studies to validate the efficacy of these interventions or develop more potent and efficient interventions for reducing MD in critical care nurses. (shrink)

For the very first time, Russian readers are offered the translation of one of the most rarely published (in the Arab world) and practically unknown (everywhere else) works of Abū Ḥayyān al-Tawḥīdi (930-1023), “[An Epistle] on Penmanship (Arabic Calligraphy)” (982). As one of those who popularized knowledge, an encyclopedist, an unrivaled master of style and a Mu’tazilite scholar Al-Tawḥīdi, using Adab literature, shares all that was known to him about this form of Arabic literature up until its compilation. In an (...) elegant manner, he reveals its secrets, gives us valuable recommendations, and conveys the universal admiration of the famous sages, writers, scribes, and court secretaries of that time. This epistle is considered the first professional work of this art form in the Arab tradition. At the time this piece was written, the seven “canonical” types of Arabic writing were not yet developed in the form and with the names, we are familiar with now. Nevertheless, this is what makes this treatise even more precious in raising the Adībs as well as the well-educated urban youths of those days. It sheds light on the history of their creation at the initial and, perhaps, the most crucial stage. The theoretical basis and the most important rules of proportional writing were formed back then and remain unshakable to this day. (shrink)