Relationship between professional ethics and spiritual health of nurses working in educational centers of Hamedan University of Medical Sciences

One of the most important aspects of nurses' performance is their adherence to the principles of professional ethics, which can affect the spiritual health of nurses. This study was conducted with the aim of determining the relationship between professional ethics and spiritual health of Iranian nurses.

This correlational study was carried out on 250 nurses working in medical and educational centers affiliated to Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran, in 2018 using stratifies random sampling technique. Data collection tools were a demographic form, a performance measurement scale based on nursing professional ethics, and Paloutzian and Ellison’s Spiritual Well-being Scale. The validity and reliability of the questionnaires were confirmed. Descriptive statistics including mean, standard deviation, relative frequency, Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling (SEM) technique were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that the mean age of the participants was 23.2±7.8 years.The mean scores of spiritual wellbeing and professional ethics were measured as 69.69±10.28 and 180.89±19.47, respectively. The findings of the present study indicated a significant relationship between the mean scores of spiritual wellbeing and professional ethics (r=0.478; P<0.001). Moreover, professional ethics showed a significant correlation with the dimensions of spiritual wellbeing (r=0.398) and existential health (r=0.302; P<0.001).

According to the results of this study, there was a statistically direct relationship between spiritual well-being and professional ethics. On this basis, it is necessary to pay attention to these variables in the community of nurses.