PARTICIPATORY NARRATIVE INQUIRY INTO NURSES' MORAL ORIENTATIONS AND WAYS OF KNOWING (INTEGRITY, EPISTEMOLOGY).
Contributors: University Of Illinois At Chicago, Health Sciences Center.
Published: 1996
Number of pages: 252
Subjects: Health Sciences, Nursing.; Psychology, Cognitive.
Description: This qualitative study described nurses' moral orientations and epistemological perspectives in lived experiences of moral conflict in nursing practice and evaluated the usefulness of a participatory narrative approach to data collection and analysis. A purposive, snowball sample of eight experienced female nurses were interviewed and audiotaped, transcribed verbatim, and given to participants for their review. Content analysis of the data was conducted to identify generative themes. Consensus was achieved between the investigator's interpretations and the participant's understanding of the data through written and verbal communication.

Based on the findings, the complexity of nurse participant's moral experiences are not adequately explained by Gilligan's two-voice theory of care and justice. Other salient moral considerations were found that did not fit the conceptual definitions of an ethic of care or justice. Nurses described morally significant group identities associated with gender, ethnicity and their profession. Integrity, courage, and honesty were central moral concerns related to nurses identification with significant groups or as individuals in relationship to others. Moreover, nurses' epistemological perspectives informed their moral judgments and were sensitive to contextual factors. Nurses reported that their moral orientations and ways of knowing often were devalued in health care settings. Based on the findings of this research, recommendations are offered for nursing practice, education, and future research.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-11, Section: B, page: 6853.

Thesis (PH.D.)--UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO, HEALTH SCIENCES CENTER, 1996.

School code: 0806.