The relationship of emergency nurses' diagnosis of symptoms of violence towards women and ethical sensitivity

THE RELATIONSHIP OF EMERGENCY NURSES' DIAGNOSIS OF SYMPTOMS OF VIOLENCE TOWARDS WOMEN AND ETHICAL SENSITIVITY Introduction and Objective: Emergency services are the units most frequently encountered with violence against women. Nurses working in the emergency room are in the profession group who see the evidence first and screen the event with their observation skills. In this study, it is aimed to see the relation ship of emergency nurses' diagnosis, attitude, and response for symptoms of violence towards women and its ethical consequences. Materials and Methodology: The sample of this cross-sectional and descriptive study consisted of nurses working in the secondary health facilities affiliated to the Presidency of Tokat Public Hospitals and GOP University Health Practice and Research Hospital Emergency Services. Relevant data was collected by the help of several instruments such as questionnaire for socio-demographic structure of the nurses, questionnaire for Diagnosing Symptoms of Violence Towards Women, and questionnaire for Ethical Sensitivity. In the evaluation of the data, mean ± standard deviation, allocation of percentages, t-test and Anova test were used. p<0,05 was accepted as meaningful. Findings: 161 emergency nurses, of whom 66 male (%41), 95 female (%59), were taken into the study, and the average age distribution is 31,40±8,61. The majority of the group (%66) were found to have experience with violence towards women. It was found that the average point of study regarding diagnosis of symptoms against women is 19,42±3,27, and the average point of ethical sensitiveness study is 90,27±31,18. While, the overall sensitiveness of attendees regarding ethical sensitivity is at average level, the findings for diagnosis of symptoms of violence is at satisfactory level. It was found out that the emotional symptom of violence is better diagnosed among emergency nurses compared to the physical symptoms. Among ADA subcategories of ethical sensitiveness, the highest orientation level is (10,22± 5,91), and lowest autonomous level is (19,44± 8,79). Result: the need for school-based and in-service training in order to create an awareness for violence against women and ethical sensitiveness. The training programs need to be repeated to keep the information up to date. Key Words: Emergency Service, Ethical Sensitiveness, Knowledge Level, Violence Against Women