Nursing Students' Inferences about Patients' Privacy Needs and Attitudes toward Patients' Privacy

Abstract

This study examines nursing student' inferences about privacy needs of hospitalized patients, examines nursing students' attitudes toward patients' privacy, and examines relations among nursing students' inferences, attitudes, and their individual attributes that may have had an influence on their personal views of privacy. Data was collected from 185 nursing students at two junior colleges of nursing prior to graduation. A five point Likert scale ranging from "highly uncomfortable" to "not uncomfortable at all" was used for 57 questions as a measurement index for nursing studens' inferences about privacy needs of hospitalized patients. Another five point Likert scale ranging from "approve" to "disapprove" was used for eight cases which highlight eight core characteristics of privacy problems between nurses and patients as a measurement index for nursing students' attitudes toward patients' privacy. To determine individual attributes nursing students were questioned about experiences of living together with their family members and learning about privacy needs of patients.

On most of the 57 questions, most of the students inferred that patients feel "a little uncomfortable" or "fairly uncomfortable" in a hospital setting. They inferred that patients' needs would be rather high for "securing privacy for letting out personal emotions", "removing whatever invades personal space" and "keeping body and behaviors private", and that the need would be rather low for "keeping personal information private". Nursing students' attitudes showed the same tendency as their inferences about patients. The rate at which they responded "approve" to "keeping personal information private" was low. In their inferences about patients' needs, a significant difference was found between the students who had lived together with their family members and those who had not. In their attitudes toward keeping patients' privacy, a significant difference was found between the students who had learned about patients' privacy needs and those who had not.