Nurse's perception of the ethical climate in the workplace and related factors

The ethical climate in hospitals is among the factors affecting health care providers’ moral development and the quality of care. This study aimed to explore nurse's perception of the ethical climate in health centers and certain related factors.
This was a cross-sectional study conducted on 168 nurses employed in one of the teaching hospitals affiliated with Shahed University. Data collection tools included a socio-demographic questionnaire and Olson's Hospital Ethical Climate Survey.
Most of the nurses (83.1%) in this study were female, and the mean age was 35.10 ± 9.42 years. From the nurses’ perspective, the highest score of ethical climate was related to managers (4.56 ± 1.04), and the lowest score pertained to the patients’ domain (2.87 ± 0.47). Moreover, no significant difference was observed in questionnaire domains according to demographic characteristics.
The results showed that the nurses in this study had a relatively positive outlook on the prevailing ethical climate in the hospital. It is recommended, however, that managers devise strategies based on the employees’ viewpoints in order to achieve the ideal ethical climate.