Ethical Problems Experienced by Community Mental Health Nurses in Korea

Hee Jung Kim

doi:10.12934/jkpmhn.2016.25.4.418

Journal List > J Korean Acad Psychiatr Ment Health Nurs > v.25(4) > 1058100

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Kim: Ethical Problems Experienced by Community Mental Health Nurses in Korea

Original Article

Journal of Korean Academy of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing 2016; 25(4): 418-429.

Published online: 30 December 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.12934/jkpmhn.2016.25.4.418

Ethical Problems Experienced by Community Mental Health Nurses in Korea

Hee Jung Kim

Department of Nursing, Gachon University, Seongnam, Korea.

Corresponding author: Kim, Hee Jung. Department of Nursing, Gachon University, 1342 Seongnamdaero, Sujeong-gu, Seongnam 13120, Korea. Tel: +82-31-750-5978, Fax: +82-31-750-8859, illine@paran.com

Received 17 October 2016 Revised 3 November 2016 Accepted 1 December 2016

(open-access):

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study was to explore ethical problems that cause moral distress in nurses and affects the quality of care provided by community mental health nurses working in community mental health settings.

Methods

Three focus group interviews were held with 14 nurses working in 3 community mental health centers in Korea. Qualitative descriptive methods and qualitative content analysis were used.

Results

Data analysis found 5 domains (decision making, communication, resources, safety, advocacy), 9 categories (personal information sharing issues, ethical insensibility, collisions between principles and practice, institutions unprepared in ethical problems, ethical dilemma in interactions with clients, problems with the evaluation system, problems with the budget structure, problems with the lack of safety measure, and problems with role limitation as a professional) and 11 subcategories.

Conclusion

Results of this study suggest a) a need for further research on identifying ethical conflicts arising in community mental health fields, and b) on what nurses actually do when they deal with ethical conflicts, c) efforts to develop ethics support programs such as ethics education, training and reflection meetings to enhance nurses' ethical sensitivity, d) consideration of a supportive environment and culture that prioritizes ethical concerns in practitioners as well as administrators.

Keywords: Ethics, Nursing, Community, Mental health services, Qualitative research

Figures and Tables

Table 1

General Characteristics of Participants (N=14)

CMHE=Community mental health practice experience.

Table 2

Categories and Subcategories of Ethical Problems Experienced by Korean Community Mental Health Nurses

Notes

^{CONFLICTS OF INTEREST} The authors declared no conflict of interest.

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