The relationship between nurses' perception of care quality and their ethical sensitivity: A comparison between internal and surgical departments

This study was conducted to examine the relationship between nurses' perceptions of care quality and their ethical sensitivity in medical and surgical units, using a descriptive and correlational survey design. The study population consisted of 850 nurses working at Amasya Sabuncuoğlu Şerefeddin State Hospital. An attempt was made to reach the entire population, and no sampling method was employed. A total of 405 nurses voluntarily participated in the study, including 203 working in medical units and 202 in surgical units. As data collection instruments, the Caring Behaviors Inventory-24, originally developed by Wu et al. (2006) and adapted into Turkish by Kurşun and Kanan (2010), and the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, developed by Lützén et al. (1995) and adapted into Turkish by Tosun (2005), were used. Data were collected between March and May 2025 by distributing and retrieving the questionnaires directly by the researcher. The findings revealed a positive and statistically significant relationship between nurses' perceptions of care quality and their ethical sensitivity in both medical and surgical departments. Among the subscales of caring behaviors, the highest scores were obtained in the knowledge-skill and assurance dimensions, while in the ethical sensitivity scale, the highest scores were observed in the holistic approach dimension. Nurses working in surgical units had significantly higher perceptions of care quality, particularly in the knowledge-skill and respectful behavior dimensions, compared to those working in medical units. On the other hand, nurses in medical units scored significantly higher in the holistic approach dimension of ethical sensitivity than those in surgical units. Additionally, the study found that nurses who were married, female, older, had longer professional experience, received postgraduate education, worked in surgical units, were assigned to day shifts, evaluated their knowledge level on care quality as high, received training from external courses, had knowledge of ethical rules and standards, and felt comfortable in the ethical decision-making process demonstrated significantly higher levels of both care quality perception and ethical sensitivity. However, no statistically significant difference was found between marital status and ethical sensitivity. In conclusion, based on the findings, it is suggested that unit-based training programs be implemented to enhance nurses' awareness of care quality and ethical sensitivity.