The effects of an ethical empowerment program on nurses’ ability of ethical care delivery to patients with decreased level of consciousness in intensive care unit

Background: Nurses should be empowered for ethical care delivery (ECD) to patients with decreased level of consciousness (LOC) in the intensive care unit (ICU). However, there are limited data about the effects of ethical empowerment programs on nurses’ ECD ability. Objectives: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of an ethical empowerment program on nurses’ ability of ECD to patients with decreased LOC in ICU. Methods: This quazi‐experimental study was conducted in 2019 in Al‐Zahra University Hospital, Isfahan, Iran. Seventy‐two nurses were randomly recruited from the ICUs and randomly allocated to an intervention and a control group. Participants in the intervention group were provided with an ethical empowerment program. A researcher‐made questionnaire was used to measure participants’ ability of ECD to patients with decreased LOC at three time points, namely before, immediately after, and 1 month after the workshop. Data were analyzed through the Chi‐square test, the independent‐samples t‐test, and the repeated‐measures analysis of variance. Results: The difference between the intervention and the control groups respecting the pretest mean score of ECD ability was not statistically significant (124 ± 5.88 vs. 126.17 ± 9.07; P = 0.10). However, the mean score of ECD ability in the intervention group was significantly greater than the control group both immediately after the workshop (142.58 ± 7.22 vs. 127.14 ± 8.13; P < 0.001) and 1 month after the workshop (147.57 ± 5.45 vs. 128.51 ± 9.52; P < 0.001). Conclusion: Ethical empowerment is effective in significantly improving nurses’ ability of ECD to patients with decreased LOC in ICU. This program is recommended for improving nurses’ ECD ability.