Greek Nurses' Perception of Hospital Ethical Climate: A Cross-Sectional Study.

This study aimed to examine Greek nurses' perceptions about hospital ethical climate and to investigate the possible difference of those perceptions regarding their demographic and work-related characteristics. The cross-sectional study design was employed in this study in which 286 nurses and nurse assistants participated. Data were collected by a sheet containing demographic and work-related characteristics and the Greek version of the Oslons' Hospital Ethical Climate Scale. IBM Statistical Package for Social Sciences 25 was used in data analysis. Frequencies, means, percentages, and standard deviations summarized the data. For the statistical differences, parametric tests were performed. Independent Samples t and Pearson correlation analysis were used to determine the relationship between the ethical climate of the hospital and the nurses' characteristics. The p-values 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The mean age of the nurses was 44 years (SD: 8.5 years; range 24-66 years). The majority of them were women (77.3%). A percent of 57.7% of the sample was married. Most positive perceptions were concerning managers (4.01) following by peers (3.82), patients (3.69), hospitals (3.29) while the least positive perceptions of the ethical climate were concerning the physicians (3.16). The factors associated with hospital ethical perception were: working experience and responsible position. The highest score of ethical climate reported to managers subscale, while the minimum score was related to physicians. In general, Greek nurses reported positive perceptions regarding hospital ethical climate. The positive ethical climate is associated with a better working environment, fewer nurses' experience of moral distress, fewer chances for nursing turnover, high quality of nursing care, and fewer errors in nursing practice.

Validation of Two Instruments for the Measurement of Dehumanization and Self-Dehumanization in Healthcare Settings.

Understanding and addressing dehumanization in healthcare is crucial due to its profound impact on patient care, ethical implications on patient dignity and autonomy, and its potential to affect the psychological well-being of healthcare professionals. The primary aim of this study was to establish reliable and valid instruments measuring two different types of dehumanization, namely animalistic dehumanization (i.e., stripping one of their uniquely human characteristics) and mechanistic dehumanization (i.e., stripping one of their human nature characteristics) among healthcare professionals. In this cross-sectional validation study among healthcare professionals, we tested measures of both animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization, focusing on the dehumanization of patients (hetero-dehumanization) and oneself (self-dehumanization), respectively. All measures were developed and validated based on a concept analysis, a literature review, and an appraisal of pre-existing scales. The research was conducted among 400 nurses and medical doctors employed in Greek public hospitals. Coefficient validity ratio results showed that 100% of items were acceptable for both measures. The newly established and validated hetero-dehumanization scale encompassed two factors (factor 1: animalistic dehumanization, factor 2: mechanistic dehumanization; Cronbach's alpha was equal to 0.86 for each measure). The self-dehumanization scale was a mono-factorial measure of mechanistic dehumanization (Cronbach's alpha = 0.97). Two validated measures of (self- and hetero-) animalistic and mechanistic dehumanization measures were developed for the assessment of dehumanization among health professionals, which will form the basis for future research in this important scientific field.