The Relationship Between Nurses' Ethical Behaviours for Protecting Patients' Rights and Patient‐Centred Care Competencies: A Cross‐Sectional Study
Melek Aksut Ozturk, Beratiye OnerABSTRACT
Aim
To determine the association between nurses' ethical behaviours for protecting patients' rights and their competencies in delivering patient‐centred care.
Design
A cross‐sectional, descriptive, and correlational design was used.
Methods
This study involved 397 nurses from diverse healthcare institutions across Turkiye (December 2024–February 2025). Data were collected using the “Nurses' Ethical Behaviours for Protecting Patients' Rights Scale” and the “Patient‐Centred Care Competency Scale”. Due to multicollinearity and the bounded outcome variable, each ethical behaviour subscale was evaluated in a separate logistic regression model controlling for demographic confounders, with patient‐centred care competency dichotomized as high versus less‐than‐high. Spearman rank‐order correlation coefficients, Mann–Whitney U tests, and Kruskal‐Wallis tests were also used.
Data Sources
Nurses in public, university, and foundation hospitals across Turkiye.
Results
Most participants were female with a median age of 29 years. Nurses who had received patient rights education demonstrated significantly higher patient‐centred care competency scores. Strong positive correlations were observed between all ethical behaviour subscales and patient‐centred care dimensions. All five ethical behaviour dimensions were independently associated with a reduced likelihood of less‐than‐high patient‐centred care competency, with the strongest associations for patient values and choices and benefit‐not‐harming.
Conclusion
All dimensions of nurses' ethical behaviour in protecting patients' rights are independently associated with patient‐centred care competency. Integrating ethics and patient rights education into nursing curricula and continuing professional development is essential, with emphasis on experiential approaches. Adequate staffing and institutional support are structural prerequisites for translating ethical values into consistent patient‐centred care delivery.
Implications for the Profession and/or Patient Care
This study supports integrating ethics and patient rights into nursing education and professional development. Adequate staffing and institutional support are structural prerequisites for consistent care delivery, with implications for healthcare policy and workforce planning.
Impact
What problem did the study address? The study addressed the lack of empirical data linking nurses' ethical behaviors related to patient rights protection with their patient‐centred care competencies and identified methodological limitations in prior analyses through multicollinearity diagnostics. What were the main findings? All five ethical behavior dimensions were significantly associated with patient‐centred care competency in separate logistic regression models. Strong positive correlations were observed between ethical behavior and patient‐centred care dimensions. Nurses who received patient rights education demonstrated significantly higher patient‐centred care competency scores. Where and on whom will the research have an impact? The findings will impact nursing educators, healthcare administrators, and frontline nurses by informing curriculum reforms, institutional training programs, and ethical practice standards, thereby enhancing patient‐centred care delivery across healthcare settings.
Reporting Method
This study employed a cross‐sectional, descriptive, and correlational design using validated self‐report scales. Data were collected via an online survey from 397 nurses providing inpatient and outpatient care in public, university, and foundation hospitals across Turkiye. Following multicollinearity diagnostics, statistical analyses included Spearman's rank‐order correlations and separate logistic regression models for each ethical behavior subscale, with patient‐centred care competency operationalized as a binary outcome (high vs. less‐than‐high competency).
Patient or Public Contribution
No direct patient or public involvement occurred in the study design, data collection, or analysis stages. However, the study indirectly reflects patient‐centred values by examining how nurses' ethical behavior is associated with care quality from the patient's perspective.