Nurses’ perspective on the ethical issues of research in mentally ill patients

Objectives: To examine the opinions of nurses working in a tertiary psychiatric hospital on ethical issues in psychiatric research. Methods: A self-administered survey questionnaire was used to gather socio-demographic data and opinions on ethical and other common issues. A Likert scale was used for responses. Results: There was a 71.5% response to the survey with 232 nursing staff and 97 non-nursing staff. The nurses were significantly different in terms of older age and racial distribution. Nurses more than non-nursing staff believed that consent should be sought before research participation. However the nurses were less likely to consider mentally ill patients capable of decision making and understanding the process on making an informed consent. Conclusion: This is the only study of nurses’ perspectives on research in mentally ill patients in an Asian setting. It is useful for the hospital in that it highlights the need for training and education on the issues in research in the mentally ill