title: Ethical issues in practice: a survey of home-visiting nurses in Japan.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purposes of this study were to identify specific components and frequencies of ethical issues that home-visiting nurses encountered in their practice, relationships between ethical issues and demographic data, and experience of ethics education and workplace environment.
  
  
  METHODS
  A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to home-visiting nurses in Japan. Usable data (1961) were analyzed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Item and exploratory factor analysis for the frequency of encountering ethical issues revealed: (i) concern about respecting client or relationships with relevant professionals; (ii) differences in treatment or care-taking views among home-visiting nurse and client and family, or relevant professionals; and (iii) discrepancy of intention between family and client or home-visiting nurse. All factors were significantly positively related to the current position, duration of working experience as a home-visiting nurse, and type of nursing education; age was significantly negatively related. Home-visiting nurses noted that programmed continuing education systems and staff-training programs were not sufficiently available.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings of this study indicated the characteristics of ethical issues that home-visiting nurses encountered in their practice and insufficient continuing education system including ethics education. Ethics education programs tailored to home-visiting nurses ethical concerns and traits and continuing education systems are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing Science, St Luke's College of Nursing, Tokyo, Japan. asahara@slcn.ac.jp
authors.forename: Kiyomi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Asahara
authors.forename: Wakanako
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ono
authors.forename: Maasa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: Junko
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Omori
authors.forename: Yumiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Momose
authors.forename: Hiromi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Todome
authors.forename: Emiko
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Konishi
mesh_terms: D003152:Community Health Nursing; D004989:Ethics; D005260:Female; D006792:House Calls; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009726:Nurses