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Completed

NCT Number: NCT04234503

Ethical Activity Profile of Nurse Managers -Testing Ethics Quarter as an Intervention

The aim of this study is:

1. to test a new ethics educational intervention for nurse mangers, Ethics Quarter (EQ) and 2. to measure the feasibility and the usability of the EQ

The detailed research questions and hypothesis of this study are as follows:

1. Is EQ effective in increasing NMs' ethics knowledge? 2. Is EQ effective in increasing NMs' influencing ethics issues? 3. Is EQ effective in increasing NMs' ethics research implementing? 4. Is EQ effective in increasing NMs' ethics problem identifying? 5. Is EQ effective in increasing NMs' ethics problem solving?

H 1-5: It is hypothesized that participating into EQ promotes NM's ethics knowledge, influencing ethics issues, ethics research implementing, ethics problem identifying and ethics problem solving compared to comparisons. 6. What are NM's perceptions of feasibility and usability of the EQ?

The ultimate goal is to strengthen nurse managers' ethical activity profile and create a new, modern way to promote ethical management of nursing.

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Key information

Conditions

Ethics

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Finland

Turku, Finland

About this study

A new educational intervention, EQ, for nurse managers has developed. Intervention development has evaluated by using criteria for complex interventions in health care (CReDECI)- guideline (Möhler et al. 2012). EQ intervention is based on distance learning method and it consists of 12 educational packages included in the virtual learning environment www.etiikanvartti.fi.

Effectiveness of EQ intervention will be tested by using an individually randomized controlled trial with baseline-, post- and follow-up-measurements.The intervention group will participate in the educational EQ intervention and the control group will not participate.

Data will be collected via the membership register of the Union of Health and Social Care Professionals in Finland (Tehy) trade union. This union is a national interest group for nurses, nurse managers and advanced consultants/specialists in the social and health-care sector having a Master's degree (nursing science or related) or registered nurses degree.

Based on statistical power analysis, the required sample size for the study will be 87 NMs at both groups, at 80%, 0.05 significance level.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Working as a nurse manager
  • Finnish-speaking

Exclusion criteria

  • Unwilling to provide consent

Treatment and study plan

Ethics Quarter

Behavioral

In the intervention, nurse managers have two educational packages per week, one taking 15 minutes (one quarter).The structure of the whole intervention is made according to the dimensions of ethical activity profile of nurse managers (Laukkanen et al. a2016; Laukkanen et al b2016) consisting of managers:

  • Developing of own ethics knowledge,
  • Influencing ethical issues,
  • Conducting/implementing ethics research,
  • Identifying and
  • Solving ethical problems.

Intervention includes also orientation and summary, in total 12 educational packages.

After every dimension, NMs have to make self-reflection and development plans, in total five times. This provides them the opportunity to link their everyday experience with ethical theory.

Primary outcomes

  1. Changes in nurse managers' ethical activity profile level.

    Time frame: Baseline, week 6 and week 10

    Ethical activity profile consists of five dimensions: 1) Developing of own ethics knowledge, 2) Influencing ethical issues, 3) Conducting/implementing ethics research, 4) Identifying and 5) Solving ethical problems.

    Dimensions 1-3 will be measured with Developing, Influencing and implementing ethics -instrument (DIIEI), Dimension 4 will be measured with Ethical Sensitivity Scale Questionnaire (ESSQ) and Dimension 5 will be measured with Nurses' Moral Courage Scale (NMCS) at baseline (before the intervention), week 6 (after the intervention) and week 10.

    Results of the all three instruments create one primary outcome measure, ethical activity profile level. All the instruments are 5-point Likert-scales (1=totally disagree; 5=totally agree/1= Does not describe me at all; 5= Describes me very well) and the higher scores indicate higher self-assessed ethical activity profile level.

  2. Changes in nurse managers' ethical activity profile level.

    Time frame: Baseline, week 6 and week 10

    Changes in nurse managers' self-assessed level of the ethical activity profile measured with the Ethical activity-instrument (EAI) at baseline (before the intervention), week 6 (after the intervention) and week 10. The higher scores indicate higher self-assessed ethical activity profile level.

Secondary outcomes

  1. Changes in nurse managers' knowledge level.

    Time frame: Baseline, week 6 and week 10

    Changes in knowledge level is measured with the Nursing Management Ethics Knowledge-test (NMEKT) at baseline (before the intervention), week 6 (after the intervention) and week 10. The higher scores indicate higher level of knowledge.

  2. Nurse managers' perceptions of the feasibility and usability of EthicsQuarter.

    Time frame: Week 6

    Perceptions of the feasibility is measured with open questions and the usability of the web site is measured with the System Usability Scale (SUS) at week 6. The higher scores indicate higher usability.

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Turku University Hospital

Other Gov

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2020
Primary completion
2020
Study completion
2020
First posted
Jan 21, 2020
Registry last updated
Dec 16, 2020

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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