A study to examine the caring efficacy of nurses

ISRCTN	ISRCTN87804744
DOI	https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN87804744
Secondary identifying numbers	Proposal_Caring project_version 1_2.4.2019

Submission date: 05/05/2020
Registration date: 12/05/2020
Last edited: 10/05/2022

Recruitment status: No longer recruiting
Overall study status: Completed
Condition category: Other

Prospectively registered

Protocol

Statistical analysis plan

Results

Individual participant data

Record updated in last year

Plain English summary of protocol

Background and study aims
A supportive ethical climate and ethical sensitivity are essential for nurses to understand the vulnerability of and discern the caring needs of their care recipients. However, the impact of contextual and personal factors on the caring efficacy of nurses from an ethical perspective has not received research attention. The aims of this study are to investigate the associations between ethical climate and the caring efficacy of nurses, as well as the mediating role of ethical sensitivity in this association.

Who can participate?
Enrolled nurses or registered nurses who work as full-time nursing staff

What does the study involve?
A total of 191 participants will be recruited by random sampling from two hospitals. Participants will complete a set of online questionnaires to examine the associations between ethical climate and the caring efficacy of nurses and the mediating role of ethical sensitivity.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
The associations of ethical climate and ethical sensitivity with caring efficacy of nurses revealed from this study will guide ways to cultivate a conducive environment and strengthen the caring competency of nurses. The results of this study will enable evidence-based caring practice for providing holistic care and improving quality of care. There is no potential risk of participating in this study.

Where is the study run from?
The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Hong Kong)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
May 2020 to April 2021

Who is funding the study?
Nethersole Institute of Continuing Holistic Health Education (Hong Kong)

Who is the main contact?
Dr Fiona Tang
wktang@cuhk.edu.hk

Contact information

Dr Fiona Tang
Public

Room 628, 6/F, Esther Lee Building
Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong
NA
Hong Kong

ORCID ID	0000-0001-7457-7820
Phone	+852 (0)3943 4235
Email	wktang@cuhk.edu.hk

Study information

Study design	Descriptive correlational study with a cross-sectional design
Primary study design	Observational
Secondary study design	Cross sectional study
Study setting(s)	Hospital
Study type	Other
Participant information sheet	Not available in web format, please use the contact details to request a participant information sheet
Scientific title	Impacts of the ethical climate of the clinical environment and ethical sensitivity of nurses on their caring efficacy
Study objectives	There are two objectives in the study: 1. To examine the association of ethical climate of clinical environment and ethical sensitivity of nurses with their caring efficacy 2. To investigate the mediation effect of ethical sensitivity on the association between ethical climate and caring efficacy
Ethics approval(s)	Approved 25/09/2019, Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong and New Territories East Cluster Research Ethics Committee (8/F, Lui Che Woo Clinical Sciences Building, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong; +852 (0)3505 3935; crec@cuhk.edu.hk), ref: 2019.226
Health condition(s) or problem(s) studied	Caring efficacy of nurses
Intervention	Participants will be randomly selected from two local hospitals. The complete list of eligible nurses affiliated to the hospitals will be used to compile a sample frame for random selection of participants. Participants will complete a set of online questionnaires, which consists of three scales: Hospital Ethical Climate Survey, Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised and Caring Efficacy Scale. The approach of Baron and Kenny will be adopted to examine the associations between ethical climate and caring efficacy of nurses and the mediating role of ethical sensitivity.
Intervention type	Other
Primary outcome measure	1. Nurses’ appraisal of ethical climate of clinical environment measured using Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS) at a single timepoint 2. Ethical sensitivity of nurses measured by Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised (MSQ-R) at a single timepoint 3. Caring efficacy of nurses measured using Caring Efficacy Scale (CES) at a single timepoint
Secondary outcome measures	There are no secondary outcome measures
Overall study start date	01/05/2020
Completion date	30/04/2021

Eligibility

Participant type(s)	Health professional
Age group	Adult
Sex	Both
Target number of participants	191
Key inclusion criteria	1. Enrolled Nurses or Registered Nurses 2. Work as full-time nursing staff 3. Consent to participate in the study
Key exclusion criteria	Does not meet inclusion criteria
Date of first enrolment	15/05/2020
Date of final enrolment	31/12/2020

Locations

Countries of recruitment

Hong Kong

Study participating centres

Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital

11 Chuen On Rd, Tai Po, NT
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong

Tai Po Hospital

9 Chuen On Rd, Tai Po, NT
Hong Kong
-
Hong Kong

Sponsor information

Chinese University of Hong Kong
University/education

6/F, Esther Lee Building
Shatin, New Territories
Hong Kong
852
Hong Kong

Phone	+852 (0)39434235
Email	wktang@cuhk.edu.hk
Website	http://www.nur.cuhk.edu.hk/
"ROR"	https://ror.org/00t33hh48

Funders

Funder type

University/education

Nethersole Institute of Continuing Holistic Health Education (NICHE)

No information available

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date	31/01/2022
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to share	Yes
IPD sharing plan summary	Other
Publication and dissemination plan	Planned publication in a high-impact peer-reviewed journal within a year after completion of the study.
IPD sharing plan	The datasets generated and/or analysed during the current study during this study will be included in the subsequent results publication.

Editorial Notes

10/05/2022: The intention to publish date was changed from 30/04/2022 to 31/01/2022.
11/05/2020: Trial's existence confirmed by Joint Chinese University of Hong Kong and New Territories East Cluster Research Ethics Committee.