Current status and influencing factors of nurses' cognition and attitudes towards clinical research ethical in China：A province-wide cross-sectional survey

Abstract

Background Nurses' competence in clinical research is a key element in promoting high quality in the discipline of nursing, and the ethical aspects of research are of paramount importance. Therefore, nurses need to have a comprehensive understanding of the ethics associated with clinical research, which is an integral part of safeguarding the safety of subjects, ensuring the quality of nursing clinical research, and improving the ethical standardization of clinical research. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted on 304 nurses in a province of China between April 2023 and September 2023, utilizing convenience sampling. The survey questionnaire comprised two sections: a general information form and a questionnaire focusing on nurses' cognition and attitudes towards clinical research ethics. Data analysis encompassed descriptive statistics, t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and multiple linear regression. Results A total of 320 questionnaires were distributed, of which 304 were valid, with an effective recovery rate of 95%. The total score of nurses' clinical research ethics cognition and attitude was (70.67 ± 7.28), which was at a medium level, with a good attitude score (91.17 ± 15.96) and a low cognition score (63.08 ± 12.30). The results of multiple linear regression analysis showed that degree, grade of hospital (I, II or III), technical title, number of clinical projects chaired in one year and whether or not they participated in training related to ethical knowledge were the five factors influencing the cognition of clinical research ethics (F = 9.341, P < 0.001, R2 = 18.0%); degree, grade of hospital (I, II or III), technical title, number of clinical research projects chaired in one year, whether the hospital has an ethics committee and whether to participate in training related to ethical knowledge were the six factors affecting ethical attitudes towards clinical research (F = 8.919, P < 0.001, R2 = 17.3%). Conclusions Nurses in a Chinese province scored low on the cognitive dimension of clinical research ethics, but their attitudes were at a relative high level, with many influencing factors. Degree, technical title, and grade of hospital, all affect cognitive and attitude scores. It is also worth noting that whether the hospital has an ethics committee affects the attitude scores, but has no effect on the cognitive scores.Nursing administrators and educators should consider providing effective and targeted strategies (e.g., ongoing training, scholarly seminars, and scholarly exchanges) to enhance nurses' knowledge and competence in clinical research ethics to protect subject rights as well as to ensure the quality of clinical research.