[Moral problems in home health care--a descriptive ethical study].
In Germany there is an increasing importance of home health care and nurses that are employed in the home care sector often have to face ethical issues. The purpose of this ethnographic study was to explore moral problems in the daily practice of these nurses. The method used was qualitative interviews with 20 nurses which have been analysed by content analysis. The results showed that the ethical principle of beneficence was the core concept for the participants. Moral problems arise when nurses cannot act in accordance to this principle or when they cannot determine the good in a situation. In particular, there were four types of moral problems: "beneficence vs. autonomy", "beneficence vs. justice", "beneficence vs. loyalty" and "The good cannot be determined". The way nurses in home health care address moral problems should be improved. Some participants lack ethical competencies. Furthermore, appropriate support services for dealing with moral problems have to be designed.
Lauxen
Oliver
O
Altenpfleger, Diplom-Pflegwirt (FH), Langstrasse 40, D-65812 Bad Soden am Taunus. olli.lauxen@web.ed
D000328:Adult; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000941:ethics*; D026686:Beneficence; D015400:Clinical Nursing Research; D016265:Conflict of Interest; D003657:Decision Making; D004993:Ethics, Nursing; D005260:Female; D006699:Home Care Services / Q000941:ethics*; D006801:Humans; D007355:Insurance, Nursing Services / Q000941:ethics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D028681:Moral Obligations; D009313:National Health Programs / Q000941:ethics; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations / Q000941:ethics; D026684:Personal Autonomy; D019555:Physician-Nurse Relations; D011785:Quality Assurance, Health Care / Q000941:ethics; D012941:Social Responsibility