A survey of nursing teachers’ awareness of discrimination and inequity in telephone nursing care

• BackgroundNursing care should be respectful of and unrestricted by patients’ age, ethnicity, gender, dis/abilities or social status, and such values should be taught to nursing students. Nursing teachers are crucial as role models, and their values are essential. In telephone nursing, only age, sex and ethnicity are known to the registered nurses, which can be challenging. The aim of this study was to explore awareness of discrimination and inequity in telephone nursing among nursing teachers.MethodsA study specific survey was filled in by 135 nursing teachers from three universities in Sweden. The survey included short descriptions of 12 fictive persons who differed in age, ethnicity and sex and with questions about their estimated life situation. The teachers’ estimations of life situation were ranked from lowest probability to highest probability. A ‘good life index’ was constructed and calculated for each fictive person. It included quality of life, power over one’s own life and experience of discrimination.ResultsThe results indicate that the nursing teachers were aware of how power and age, ethnicity and sex are related; that is, they were aware of discrimination and inequity in healthcare. The persons assessed to be most likely to lead a good life were males of Swedish origin, followed by females of Swedish origin. Persons with non-European origin were estimated to have the highest probability of experiencing discrimination.ConclusionsThe nursing teachers were aware of discrimination and inequity in healthcare. They were able to estimate a fictive person’s life situation based on the limited knowledge of age, ethnicity and sex. This is important, as their values are pivotal in theoretical and practical nursing education.

Subject headings

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Omvårdnad (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Nursing (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap -- Folkhälsovetenskap, global hälsa, socialmedicin och epidemiologi (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences -- Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology (hsv//eng)

MEDICIN OCH HÄLSOVETENSKAP  -- Hälsovetenskap (hsv//swe)

MEDICAL AND HEALTH SCIENCES  -- Health Sciences (hsv//eng)

Keyword

General Nursing

Discrimination

Equity

Telephone nursing

Nursing teachers

Publication and Content Type

ref (subject category)

art (subject category)