Impact of Biomedical Ethics Awareness and Ethical Values in Nursing Student on Their Attitudes towards DNR

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify how nursing students' awareness of biomedical ethics and ethical values affect their attitudes towards a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order. Methods: This cross-sectional correlation study was conducted with 275 nursing students enrolled at two universities in North Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province of South Korea. Data were collected in April 2017 using a selfreported questionnaire. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and stepwise multiple regression with the SPSS/WIN 23.0 program. Results: The students' attitudes towards DNR were positively correlated with attitudes that seek ethical values but negatively correlated with their biomedical ethics awareness. The explained variance for attitudes towards DNR was 20%, which was significant (F=13.01, P＜0.001). Conclusion: These findings suggest that nursing students' biomedical ethics awareness and ethical values were associated with their attitudes towards DNR. Curriculum organization and various educational programs should be developed and applied to help nursing students develop ethical values and awareness of biomedical ethics.

The Effects of Nurses’ Knowledge of Withdrawal of Life- Sustaining Treatment, Death Anxiety, Perceptions of Hospice on Their Attitudes toward Withdrawal of Life-Sustaining Treatment

“…Although the participants were different, it was also confirmed by Jung [ 4 ] that attitudes were affected by marital status, ethical values, and hospice education experience among nursing students. Kim and Mun [ 26 ] also reported that attitudes were related to having received education on WLST. Therefore, the factors found to be significantly related to attitudes in these studies include clinical experience, ward type, marital status, ethical values, and hospice care education experience.…”

“…Nurses with firm ethical values were found to have positive attitudes toward WLST. In the same vein, Kim and Mun [ 26 ] reported that having firm ethical values had a positive influence on the attitudes of nursing students toward withholding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation, which is believed to indicate that people with firm ethical values make more rational decisions in the face of ethical conflicts.…”