Attitudes towards gossip and patient privacy among paediatric nurses

Abstract

Background: Nurses providing 24-h care for the primary caregiver role have a number of significant roles to play in potential problems or conflicts associated with patient privacy and confidentiality. Research objectives: The objective of the study is to determine the prevailing attitudes towards gossip and the patient privacy practices of nurses working in paediatric units. Research design: A descriptive and cross-sectional design was used. A Descriptive Characteristics Form, a Gossip and Rumour Attitude Scale and a Patient Privacy Scale were used to collect data. Participants and research context: A total of 112 paediatric nurses working in Turkey were included in the study. The response rate was 79.43%. Ethical considerations: Permission to conduct the study was obtained from the university’s ethics committee. The participants were informed of the aim of the study, and voluntary participation, anonymous response and confidentiality were explained to them. Findings: It was observed that nurses who had a higher education level, who were educated about patient privacy and who had read the patient rights regulations were more concerned about patient privacy. Negative correlations were found between the attitudes towards gossiping and the average scores on the patient confidentiality scale. Nurses who negatively defined gossip were more concerned about patient confidentiality. Discussion: Privacy is important for securing and protecting the personal, physical and psychological things that are important and special for patients. It is argued that obstacles to maintaining the privacy of hospitalized children and adolescents are a tolerant attitude towards gossiping, a lack of education about patient privacy and insufficient information about patient’s rights regulations and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Conclusion: A nurse’s knowledge about the provision of patient confidentiality affects their privacy practices. For this reason, regular training sessions are recommended in hospitals.

Assessment of nurses’ respect for patient privacy by patients and nurses: A comparative study

“…Further, patients’ age, gender, education status, the number of days they stayed in the hospital, the number of patients in their rooms, previous hospitalisations, and whether they were familiar with patient's rights also had no effect on their scores on privacy scale. However, in a study by Ceylan and Çetinkaya (2020), nurses who had a high education level, received training on patient privacy and who read the legal directives on patient rights were more attentive to or interested in patient privacy. In a study by Kim et al (2017), married nurses, nurses with university degree/higher education, charge nurses or higher‐level nurses gave more attention to behaviours aimed at protecting patient privacy.…”

Operating room nurses’ lived experiences of ethical codes: A phenomenological study in Iran

“…Medical ethics requires physicians who must be polite to patients, maintain patients’ privacy, and respect their beliefs and values [ 30 ]. Privacy is essential to create a sense of security in patients and physical and psychological support of patients [ 31 ]. In nursing and health care, patients have the right to make decisions independently, and respect for patients’ independence in health care has recently received special attention [ 32 ].…”

Privacy Awareness of Nursing Students

“…30 Aktan et al indicated that 67 (41.6%) of the nurses in the study participated in training on privacy and patients' rights, and Ceylan and Çetinkaya highlighted that the nurses who received training on the subject had more privacy consciousness. 31,32 In a study conducted with nursing students, students emphasized that privacy training should be received to improve appropriate attitudes towards privacy, and more attention should be paid to privacy during training. 11 The results of our study support the literature.…”