Developing an ethical attitude scale for pain management in nursing.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to develop the 'Developing an Ethical Attitude Scale for Pain Management in Nursing' to assign the ethical attitudes of nurses in pain management. METHODS: The population of the study comprised nurses (n=411) working in a university hospital in Izmir. The Ethical Attitude Scale in Nursing Pain Management was developed in five sub-dimensions: 'Care and Dignity,' 'Ethical Values,' 'Attitude,' 'Rights,' and 'Pain Management.' This scale was created by examining many research studies related to pain management in nursing in the literature and taking expert opinions. 'The Ethical Attitude Scale in Nursing Pain Management' initially consisted of 36 items. After expert opinions and validity analyses, the draft scale was reduced to 34 items, and then reliability analysis further reduced the scale to 23 items. RESULTS: In the validity and reliability study of 'The Ethical Attitude Scale in Nursing Pain Management,' the total Cronbach's alpha value of the scale was 0.86. The Cronbach's alpha value for the 'Care and Dignity' sub-dimension was 0.88; for the 'Ethical Values' sub-dimension, it was 0.83; for the 'Attitude' sub-dimension, it was 0.86; for the 'Rights' sub-dimension, it was 0.79; and for the 'Pain Management' sub-dimension, it was 0.72. CONCLUSION: According to these data, it was determined that 'The Ethical Attitude Scale in Nursing Pain Management' is a valid and reliable scale.

Effect of Auditory Stimulation on the Level of Consciousness in Comatose Patients Admitted to the Intensive Care Unit: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

BACKGROUND: Comatose patients are exposed to sensory deprivation in the intensive care units. Auditory stimulation of patients who are unconscious is a nonmedical procedure. This study examines the effect of organized voice, performed by a nurse, on the state of consciousness of comatose patients in intensive care units. METHOD: This randomized controlled trial study of 60 patients was conducted fitting between August 2017 and February 2018. For 10 days, patients received the voice of a male nurse twice a day in the morning and night shifts, recorded on MP3 and repeated at least 3 to 4 times. Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores were recorded by the researcher before and after auditory stimulation. RESULTS: Patient mean age was 69.2 years; 56.7% of the experimental group and 53.3% of the control group were male. On the first day in the morning and evening after auditory stimulation, the mean GCS was 4.8 in the experimental group and 4.7 in the control group. Before and after the intervention on the 10th day after auditory stimulation, the mean GCS of patients was 9.5 in the experimental group and 7.1 in the control group in the morning and 9.6 and 7.2, respectively, in the evening. No significant differences in mean GCS by group were observed for the first 3 days (P > .05). However, the difference in mean GCS scores of the 2 groups was statistically significant after the third day (P < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Auditory stimulation is associated with higher GCS in comatose patients.