Predicting the effect of ethical climate and spiritual well-being of nurses on respecting the patients' privacy in intensive care units: an analytical study.

Background: Ethical climate, observance of patients' privacy and nurses' spiritual well-being are of great importance in intensive care units (ICU). In addition, it is essential to identify spiritual and ethical predictors of patients' privacy. Thus, this study aimed to determine the predictive effects of ethical climate and nurses' spiritual well-being on patients' privacy in ICU.

Methods: In this analytical cross-sectional study, 250 out of 500 ICU nurses were recruited using proportionate allocation stratified sampling. Data were collected using a demographic characteristics form, Patient Privacy Scale, Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, and Spiritual Well-Being Scale. The data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and hierarchical linear regression analysis.

Results: The results showed that patients' privacy was associated with the hospital's ethical climate and nurses' spiritual well-being (P < 0.001). The hierarchical linear regression analysis indicated that, in step 1, patients (β = 0.22, P = 0.03) and managers' (β = 0.41, P < 0.001) subscales of ethical climate had a significant proportion of the variance of patients' privacy. In step 2, patients (β = 0.25, P = 0.01), managers' (β = 0.34, P < 0.001) subscales of ethical climate, and nurses' spiritual well-being (β = 0.17, P = 0.01) had a significant proportion of the variance of patients' privacy. According to step 2, these variables explained 40% of the changes in patients' privacy.

Conclusion: The results of the present study showed that the ethical climate and nurses' spiritual well-being were the predictors of patients' privacy. Given that 40% of the variance of the patients' privacy was recognized by these variables, it is suggested that further research should be conducted to determine other predictors.