Nurses awareness of the Maltese code of ethics

Abstract

The importance that nurses abide by a professional Code of Ethics in practice has been clearly established in the literature, yet previous studies found that nurses are inadequately informed and unaware of the Code's content. This small-scale exploratory-descriptive research, which opted for both quantitative and qualitative data, was conducted to evaluate nurses' awareness of the Maltese Code of Ethics. It also attempts to gain insight of the nurses' attitudes towards these ethical guidelines. Data was obtained from nineteen self-administered semi-structured questionnaires. The sample was composed of eight State Registered Nurses and eleven State Enrolled Nurses. The findings indicated that the majority of participants were aware of the publication of the Maltese Code of Ethics. Yet, less than half of the sample own a copy of the code or have read its contents. The respondents had both positive and negative attitudes towards the Code and a number of misconceptions. The results suggest that Maltese nurses need more information about the functions of the Code and the benefits of abiding by its guidelines. In addition, this study identified certain implications for practice that might offer guidance to a course of actions aimed at helping nurses understand better the functions of the Code. Recommendations for research to further explore and describe the nurses' knowledge and awareness of professional nursing ethics were given.