Ethical Dilemmas Experienced By Nurses In The Critical Care Units In Kenyatta National Hospital.

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ABSTRACT Introduction- Ethical issues have emerged in the recent years as a major component of health care for the critically ill patients, who are vulnerable and totally depend on the caregiver, optimally the nurse working in the critical care unit. As a result nurses working in the Critical Care Units are faced with ethical dilemmas on a day to day basis in the course of executing their duties. Ethical dilemmas have therefore become one of the priority concerns in the nursing profession that require urgent attention in Kenya. As the provision of care to the critically ill becomes more complex due to technological advancement, and the profession of nursing more autonomous, professional accountability cannot be overemphasized. (Fry, 2002). The complex nature of the health problems faced by patients admitted in ICU coupled with extensive use of very sophisticated technology requires at times rapid decision making. Ethical dilemmas confront even the most experienced nurse (Breen C.M. et al, 2004). Those working in KNH ICU are not any different particularly considering particularly considering that KNH is public hospital having the biggest ICU in the country. Additionally it admits patients from various walks of life and the nurses have diverse socio- demographic factors. However their perception and magnitude of ethical dilemmas they face while working in these areas and how they resolve them have not been studied. Duration of the study: The study took five weeks. Pretesting of the questionnaires took two days. Objective: To explore ethical dilemmas experienced by nurses working in the critical care areas at Kenyatta National Hospital and factors influencing the nurses‟ ethical decision making. Study question: What ethical dilemmas face nurses working in the critical care areas at KNH and how do they resolve them? Materials and methods: An exploratory survey study design was adopted whereby 123 nurses shall be requested to participate in the study upon signing an informed consent. These participants were employees of KNH working in the critical care areas during the time of data collection. The study was conducted in the critical care units of