Knowledge on Legal and Ethical Aspect of Nursing among Nurses Working in Kirtipur Hospital

Abstract

Introduction: Nurses frequently encounter a range of legal and ethical challenges while caring for individuals through critical life events such as birth, illness, recovery, suffering, and death. Legal guidelines help nurses act appropriately and professionally, while ethical principles govern standards of behavior and moral decision-making. This study aimed to evaluate the level of knowledge of nurses regarding the legal and ethical aspects of their profession.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out involving 111 nurses at Kirtipur Hospital. Data collection commenced following ethical approval from the phect-NEPAL Institutional Review Committee. Probability Proportional to Size (PPS) sampling techniques was employed to select the nurses from each department within the hospital. Data were gathered using a semi-structured, self-administered questionnaire and descriptive and inferential statistics is utilized and data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).
Results: The study findings reveal that nurses possessed an overall average level of knowledge regarding the legal and ethical aspects of nursing. Only 25 (22.5%), demonstrated a high level of knowledge, while 62 (55.9%), had a moderate level, only 24 (21.6%) showed a low level of knowledge. A significant association was observed between the nurses’ level of knowledge and their years of experience as well as their respective areas of work.
Conclusions: This study identified that even though majority had average knowledge on legal aspects of patient care, only a small percentage had good knowledge on legal and ethical aspect. So based on this study, Kritipur hospital should plan educational, and training programs about legal and ethical aspect of nursing.