Research Progress on the Ethical Dilemmas of Nurses in the Epidemics Prevention and Control of Major Infectious Diseases / 中国医学伦理学

ABSTRACT

Ethical dilemmas commonly exist among nurses during the epidemic prevention and control of major infectious diseases, which can affect their physical and mental health and nursing quality. This paper reviewed the ethical dilemmas of nurses in the epidemic prevention and control of major infectious diseases from four aspects, including concepts, current situation, evaluation tools, and influencing factors, with a view to raising the attention of nurses, nursing administrators, and health management organizations to the ethical dilemmas of nurses in the epidemic prevention and control of major infectious diseases, and providing theoretical references for further formulating strategies. In terms of ethical dilemmas research of nurses during the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, domestic and foreign studies mostly used scales and qualitative interviews to investigate. Research has found that the ethical dilemmas of nurses during the period include the ethical dilemma of visiting restrictions, the ethical dilemma of fair allocation of scarce resources, and the ethical dilemma of nurses’ rights and obligations. The main influencing factors include demographic factors, psychological factors, risk perception, and social support. It is recommended to develop suitable assessment tools from the perspective of ethical in the future, timely grasp the current situation of ethical dilemmas of nurses during the prevention and control of major infectious diseases, and deeply explore influencing factors.