A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Nursing Ethics Education for Undergraduate Nursing Students and Nurses

Abstract

Purpose: This study conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify trends in nursing ethics education research for Korean nursing students and nurses. Methods: The data search was conducted in July 2020; domestic and foreign academic journals were targeted for the search. A combination of search terms was entered into major databases, and the year of publishing was limited to the last 10 years (2010~2020). Results: The systematic review analyzed 25 experimental and 13 non-experimental studies, and education methods included lectures, discussions, role play, film-use classes related to nursing ethics, action learning, and case-based learning. The meta-analysis of 12 studies revealed that ethical education has significant differences in effect size of biomedical ethics, critical thinking, moral judgment, and moral sensitivity. A subgroup analysis of education methods showed that in addition to traditional lecture and discussion education methods, there were significant differences in the effect size of sense of biomedical ethics between the following two methods: lecture and discussion including additional methods and lecture and discussion only. Conclusion: Ethics education for nursing students and nurses has been found to be effective in improving ethics-related competencies, and various teaching methods other than lectures and discussions must be utilized. © 2022 Korean Academy of Nursing Administration