Ethical climate in the primary health care workplace: a mixed-method study

to analyze the ethical climate in the primary health care workplace in a municipality in the Amazon region, combining quantitative and qualitative data.

a convergent, parallel, mixed-method study. Qualitative data from interviews with 46 professionals underwent reflective thematic analysis. Quantitative data were obtained from 170 professionals using the Ethical Climate Inventory. Exploratory factor analysis tested the Ethical Climate Inventory model, proposing a new configuration for the items, with greater explanatory power than that maintained in the confirmatory factor analysis. Data integration was independent and presented in a joint display.

items with the highest factor loadings of the four factors of the Ethical Climate Inventory (1. principles and rules, 2. benevolence, 3. independence/individualism, and 4. sense of community/social responsibility) were analyzed in conjunction with the qualitative category, with multiple expressions of subjectivity and ethics in the workplace. No divergences were observed between the data, only convergences and complementarity in analytical syntheses by factor.

data integration broadened the understanding of the ethical climate in a little-explored scenario, demonstrating the distinction of this reality in terms of the constructs analyzed and the strength of ethical elements as a conceptual and analytical tool for workplace environments.