Conceptualization and instrumentation of nurses' moral sensitivity in psychiatric practice

Abstract

Examines moral sensitivity in psychiatric nursing practice, using 79 registered nurses employed in community and hospital psychiatric settings in Sweden as Ss. The moral sensitivity test (MST), a 7-step Likert scale, was developed from conceptual categories, including expressing benevolence, structuring moral meaning, and modifying autonomy. Findings indicate that the MST can be further developed psychometrically as a measure for some variables that may account for moral decisionmaking in psychiatric practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)