TY - JOUR
T1 - Physicians and caregivers do differ in ethical attitudes to daily clinical practice
AU - Telléus, Patrik Kjærsdam
AU - Holdgaard, Dorte Møller
AU - Thørring, Birthe
PY - 2018/12/1
Y1 - 2018/12/1
N2 - It is commonly assumed that there are differences in physicians’ and caregivers’ ethical attitudes towards clinical situations. The assumption is that the difference is driven by different values, views and judgements in specific situations. At Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark, we aimed to investigate these assumptions by conducting a large quantitative study. The study design, based on the Factorial Survey Method, was a carefully constructed survey with 50 questions designed to test which factors influenced the respondents’ ethical reasoning. The factors were clustered into three categories of ethical reasoning and values. The categories were formulated in terms of easily recognizable ethical positions: consequential ethics, deontological ethics and relational ethics. Based on 2129 respondents, we found significant support for the assumption of differences between physicians and caregivers. The group of caregivers favoured the relational ethics view in clinical ethical situations, and the group of physicians favoured the position of deontological ethics.
AB - It is commonly assumed that there are differences in physicians’ and caregivers’ ethical attitudes towards clinical situations. The assumption is that the difference is driven by different values, views and judgements in specific situations. At Aalborg University Hospital, Denmark, we aimed to investigate these assumptions by conducting a large quantitative study. The study design, based on the Factorial Survey Method, was a carefully constructed survey with 50 questions designed to test which factors influenced the respondents’ ethical reasoning. The factors were clustered into three categories of ethical reasoning and values. The categories were formulated in terms of easily recognizable ethical positions: consequential ethics, deontological ethics and relational ethics. Based on 2129 respondents, we found significant support for the assumption of differences between physicians and caregivers. The group of caregivers favoured the relational ethics view in clinical ethical situations, and the group of physicians favoured the position of deontological ethics.
KW - Clinical ethics
KW - professional ethics in medicine
KW - professional ethics in nursing
KW - quantitative study
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85052537380&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1177/1477750918790005
DO - 10.1177/1477750918790005
M3 - Journal article
SN - 1477-7509
VL - 13
SP - 209
EP - 219
JO - Clinical Ethics
JF - Clinical Ethics
IS - 4
ER -