Ethical climate in nursing environment: A scoping review.

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Nursing Ethics
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Interest in ethical climate within healthcare has significantly increased over the last two decades.
• Ethical climate is defined as shared perceptions of ethical conduct and issue resolution within an organization.
• While recognized as crucial in nursing, comprehensive reviews of ethical climate research in this field are lacking.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of studies on ethical climate in the nursing environment.
• To analyze existing research to provide a comprehensive overview of the field.
• To identify trends and gaps in ethical climate research within nursing.

Main Methods:

• Employed a scoping review methodology following established guidelines (Arksey & O'Malley, Levac et al.).
• Conducted extensive electronic searches across major academic databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Web of Science, PsycINFO, Scopus, Philosophers' Index).
• Screened 1051 citations, ultimately including 56 articles that met the inclusion criteria.

Main Results:

• Ethical climate research is a dynamic area with varied methodologies and findings, generally perceived positively.
• Studies predominantly investigated associations between ethical climate and work-related factors like job satisfaction, moral distress, and turnover intentions.
• Research designs were largely homogeneous, primarily utilizing quantitative, descriptive, and correlative approaches.

Conclusions:

• The current body of research on ethical climate in nursing exhibits methodological consistency.
• Novel perspectives and diverse methodological approaches are needed to broaden understanding.
• Addressing issues impacting the generalizability of findings is crucial for advancing the field.