Faculty Scholar, Center for the Study of Law & Religion, Emory University School of Law, Emory University, Gambrell Hall, Suite 310, 1301 Clifton Road, Atlanta, GA, 30322, USA.
School of Medicine, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, USA.
HEC Forum. 2022 Jun;34(2):187-208. doi: 10.1007/s10730-020-09437-1. Epub 2021 Jan 31.
This study explored the perceptions of ethics among long-term care employees (N275) in order to test two hypotheses. A cohort cross-sectional survey examined employees' perceptions of an ethics environment, racial-ethnic, and position disparities (HO1; ANOVA), and, secondarily, ethics in relationship to select, research-grounded work features measured as manage disagreements, effectiveness, work satisfaction, and opinions of care, the latter including intention to remain (HO2; Pearson Correlations). Established questionnaires with robust psychometrics were employed. Response rate was 51%. Non-significant differences between sample and population on key variables supported extrapolation of results. Statistically significant differences between racial-ethnic (p < 0.03; F 2.42) and work positions (p <0.0001; F 6.24) were revealed on ethics (3.16; HO1). Statistically significant relationships (p <0.0001; r = 0.26-0.68; HO2) between ethics and employees' work features also were found, confirming both hypotheses. Perceptions of ethics based on racial-ethnic and position disparities, as well as the robust links with employee work features, offered potential avenues for decreasing disparities at work and improving the quality of long-term care. Noted further on ethics item scoring were relatively low scores indicating less involvement in, and access to, ethics discussions and decisions. In contrast, the literature review substantiated the importance of empowerment and retention, which were enhanced by employee involvement in work, notably, discussions and decisions. Thus, implications of ethics committees in long-term care sites as ways to potentially enhance employees' work and quality of care, especially work satisfaction and retention, were explored; relevant concerns raised by the Covid pandemic were, briefly, discussed.
本研究旨在探讨长期护理员工（N275）对伦理的看法，以检验两个假设。一项队列横断面调查考察了员工对伦理环境、种族和民族以及职位差异的看法（HO1；ANOVA），其次，还考察了伦理与选择、以研究为基础的工作特征之间的关系，这些特征被衡量为管理分歧、有效性、工作满意度和对护理的看法，后者包括继续留任的意愿（HO2；Pearson 相关性）。采用了具有可靠心理测量学的既定问卷。响应率为 51%。关键变量在样本和总体之间无显著差异，支持结果的推断。在伦理方面，种族和民族（p<0.03；F2.42）和工作职位（p<0.0001；F6.24）之间存在显著差异（HO1）。还发现伦理与员工工作特征之间存在显著的关系（p<0.0001；r=0.26-0.68；HO2），证实了这两个假设。基于种族和民族以及职位差异的伦理观念，以及与员工工作特征的强有力联系，为减少工作中的差异和提高长期护理质量提供了潜在途径。进一步注意到，伦理项目的评分相对较低，这表明员工较少参与和获得伦理讨论和决策。相比之下，文献综述证实了赋权和留任的重要性，而员工参与工作，特别是讨论和决策，可以增强赋权和留任。因此，探讨了长期护理场所伦理委员会的意义，认为这是提高员工工作和护理质量的潜在途径，特别是工作满意度和留任率；简要讨论了与新冠疫情相关的相关问题。
