Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Sign In to gain access to subscriptions and/or personal tools.
Nursing Ethics
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Slettebø, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bunch, E. H.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Slettebø, A.
Right arrow Articles by Bunch, E. H.
Right arrowPubmed/NCBI databases
Medline Plus Health Information
*Family Issues
*Nursing Homes
*Talking With Your Doctor
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati   Add to Twitter  
What's this?

Solving Ethically Difficult Care Situations in Nursing Homes

Åshild Slettebø

Oslo University College, Norway, Aashild.Slettebo{at}su.hio.no

Eli Haugen Bunch

University of Oslo, Norway

Patients in nursing homes sometimes give accounts of episodes in which they feel their autonomy and/or self-respect are violated as a result of the care they receive from nursing staff. In these ethically difficult care situations nurses use strategies such as negotiation, explanation and, in some cases, restraint. This study investigates how nurses apply these strategies to resolve ethical dilemmas in such a way that patients experience respect rather than violation. Critical issues that will be discussed include the definition of ethically difficult care situations in nursing homes and the identification of strategies for resolving such situations. Examples of the use of three strategies are presented. The use of negotiation, restraint and explanation are discussed in order to ensure respect for patients’ autonomy and thus to optimize health care outcomes.

Key Words: autonomy • nursing ethics • nursing homes • self-respect

Nursing Ethics, Vol. 11, No. 6, 543-552 (2004)
DOI: 10.1191/0969733004ne737oa
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati   Add to Twitter Twitter    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Nurs EthicsHome page
J. Rees, L. King, and K. Schmitz
Nurses' Perceptions of Ethical Issues in the Care of Older People
Nursing Ethics, July 1, 2009; 16(4): 436 - 452.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Nurs EthicsHome page
S. Teeri, M. Valimaki, J. Katajisto, and H. Leino-Kilpi
Maintenance of Patients' Integrity in Long-Term Institutional Care
Nursing Ethics, July 1, 2008; 15(4): 523 - 535.
[Abstract] [PDF]

Home page
 Nurs EthicsHome page
E. M. Solum, A. Slettebo, and S. Hauge
Prevention of Unethical Actions in Nursing Homes
Nursing Ethics, July 1, 2008; 15(4): 536 - 548.
[Abstract] [PDF]