The Status of Protecting and Maintaining Patient Privacy of Intern Nurses and Affecting Factors

INTRODUCTION: The aim of this study was to determine the status of intern nurses to protect and maintain patient privacy and affecting factors.
METHODS: The study planned as cross-sectional study and conducted between December 2017 and February 2018 at a nursing faculty in Turkey. In the collection of data, 252 intern nurses were reached. The data of the study were gathered by questionnaire method using “Individual Identification Form,” Intern Nursing Students’ Information Form Related to Privacy,” and “Patient Privacy Scale”. In statistical analysis, frequency, mean and standard deviation, Kruskal–Wallis and Mann–Whitney U-test were used.
RESULTS: Of the intern nurses, 82.5% were female and their ages were in the range of 21-24 years. The mean score of the Patient Privacy Scale of them was 4.56 ± 0.40. In the subscales, “physical privacy” displayed the highest mean score (4.67 ± 0.47), while “gender-related privacy” was the lowest (4.41 ± 0.51). In addition, it was found that there was a statistically significant relationship between the variables of Patient Privacy Scale total score, gender, hospitalization experience, having knowledge about privacy, believing privacy was always necessary and meeting the privacy needs of their patients variables (P <.05).
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was determined that the intern nurses’ approaches to protect and maintain patient privacy were found to be positive. It should be observed whether this is reflected in care during clinical practice.