Introduction: Maintaining dignity is one of patients is one of the main ethical responsibilities of caregivers. However, in many cases, the dignity of patients, especially autistic teenagers is not maintained. The extent to which dignity needs are met for this group within the Iranian care system is difficult to determine as dignity is an abstract concept, and there are few related research studies reported. Objectives: The objective of this study is to find out caregivers perspectives on dignity in teenagers with (...) autistic spectrum disorder. Research design: This study uses a qualitative research design. The data were collected through individual, semi-structured interviews and field notes developed during the interviews. In order to analyze the data, qualitative conventional content analysis was used. Participants and research context: In all, 16 professional caregivers for autistic teenagers working in public hospitals were recruited based on a targeted sampling method to reach data saturation from February 2016 to July 2017. Findings: The findings of this study were presented in three main themes, “privacy,” “respecting individual identity,” and “comprehensive support,” and 11 categories. Ethical consideration: This study’s protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of medical universities located in Southeast of Iran and the required ethical principles were followed throughout. Discussion and conclusion: Based on the findings of this study from the perspective of caregivers, autistic teenagers need to be cared for and educated in a respectful environment where their privacy is maintained, their individual identities are respected, and they receive comprehensive familial, social, and financial support. These conditions would maintain the dignity of such teenagers and would result in appropriate behavioral outcomes. Therefore, it is suggested that a cultural, professional and institutional background in which all components of the autistic teenager’s dignity are protected and emphasized be provided. (shrink)

Introduction: Maintaining patient dignity in a caregiving environment is one of the most important moral responsibilities for caregivers. Nonetheless, there are vulnerable groups, specifically teenagers, who in their final stages of life are prone to their dignity being threatened. Moreover, dignity is an abstract concept and there is no studies done on teenagers’ dignity in the final stages of life available in Iran.Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the caregivers’ experiences regarding teenagers’ dignity in the final stages (...) of life.Research design: This study is a descriptive phenomenological qualitative research project. The data was collected using deep individual and semi-structured interviews as well as taking notes. The Colaizzi analysis method was used to analyze the data.Participants and research context: 22 caregivers working with teenagers in the final stages of life in a public health centers in Iran who had the criteria to enter the study were selected using a purposeful sampling method and invited to join the study from August 2018 to June 2019. The sampling continued until data saturation.Findings: The findings of the present study were presented in the form of three main themes including “private,” “respecting individual identity,” and “attention to teenagers’ needs” and an additional eight categories.Ethical Considerations: The study’s protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Shiraz University of Medical Sciences and all ethical principles were followed throughout the study.Discussion and conclusion: Based on the present study from the caregivers’ point of view, teenagers in their final stages of life required to be cared for and taught in an environment that their privacy was maintained and their individual identity was respected as well as getting attention from the caregivers and companions. In such situations, the teenagers felt calm and their dignity was maintained; therefore, providing a cultural, professional, and organizational setting where all the components of maintaining dignity in teenagers are supported and prioritized is necessary. (shrink)

BackgroundBurn patients are among the most vulnerable groups of patients requiring principled ethical care. Caring for these patients often brings various ethical challenges for the members of the health care teams, especially nurses, which affect the clinical decisions made for these patients. A limited number of studies have addressed the ethical challenges of caring for burn patients for the responsible caregivers, so the present study attempted to identify these challenges. The present study aimed to explore the health professionals' experiences of (...) the ethical challenges during caring for burn patients.MethodsThis was a qualitative study with a descriptive, phenomenological design. 22 health professional practiced in public burn centers in Iran who met the inclusion criteria of the study were selected via purposeful sampling to participate in the study from June to August 2019. Data were collected using semi-structured, in-depth interviews with the individuals as well as field notes. Sampling was continued up to the data saturation. Thereafter, the collected data were analyzed using Colaizzi's method.ResultsThe findings of the study yielded 3 themes, including respect for the patient's privacy, respect for the patient's personal identity, and care challenges, as well as 9 categories.ConclusionThe findings of this study showed that the burn patients’ caregivers face some challenges in the domains of maintaining the patient's privacy, respecting the patient’s personal identity, and making the best clinical decision. Thus, providing the cultural, professional, and organizational requirements of meeting the challenges of caring for burn patients can consequently result in the caregivers’ inner peace and the improved performance. (shrink)

Background Providing care to children with cancer is one of the most challenging areas of ethical care for nurses. Few studies have addressed nurses’ perception of the barriers to giving ethical care in oncology departments. Thus, it is essential that the ethical challenges in caregiving as perceived by oncology nurses be investigated. Objective The present study was conducted to investigate the ethical challenges as perceived by nurses in pediatric oncology units in the south of Iran. Research design The present study (...) is a qualitative work of research with a conventional content analysis design. Data were collected via individual semi-structured interviews. The collected data were analyzed using the qualitative content analysis method. Participants and research context The participants were 21 nurses from pediatric oncology units in state hospitals who were selected by purposeful sampling. Sampling continued until the data were saturated. The study lasted from April to October 2022. Findings Three main themes, promoting psychological safety in the children, respect for the dignity of the children, and expansion of support for families, and nine subthemes were extracted from the data. Ethical considerations The study’s protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the University of Medical Sciences and ethical principles were followed throughout the study. Discussion and conclusion From the nurses’ perspective, the major ethical challenges in providing ethical care in pediatric oncology units were reducing tension toward promoting the patients’ psychological safety, showing respect for the identity and dignity of the children with cancer, and expanding support of the patients’ families. By creating the right cultural and professional context and establishing proper protocols, healthcare policymakers and administrators can take effective steps toward eliminating the barriers to providing ethical care. (shrink)

Background Maintaining the dignity of patients who attempted suicide is one of the caregivers’ main ethical duties. Yet, in many cases, these patients are not treated with dignity. The concept of dignity is abstract, and there is no research on the dignity of suicidal patients. So, the present study is done to investigate psychiatric nurses’ perception of dignity in patients who attempted suicide. Objective The present study explores the concept of dignity in patients who attempted suicide from the perspective of (...) psychiatric nurses. Research design The present study is a qualitative, descriptive work of research Participants and research context A total of 20 psychiatric nurses from 2 hospitals affiliated with a university of medical sciences in the southeast of Iran were selected via purposeful sampling. Ethical considerations The Research Ethics Committee of the Hamadan University of Medical Sciences approved the study’s protocol, and ethical principles were followed in general. Findings From the findings of the study, three main themes, namely “ respect for personal; identity,” “management of psychological tension,” and “compassion-focused therapy,” with 12 sub-themes were extracted. Discussion and conclusion In the perspective of caregivers, patients who attempted suicide need to be cared for in supportive environments with compassionate and respectful behaviors to control their psychological tensions. These conditions would maintain such patients’ dignity and result in appropriate behavioral outcomes. Policy-makers and administrators can use the present study’s findings to create an appropriate clinical environment in which the dignity of patients who attempted suicide is properly maintained. (shrink)