看護学生を対象にした質問紙調査を行う際の倫理的配慮に関する実態調査―看護教員の倫理的配慮に関する認識と実践

A survey on ethical considerations relating to questionnaires for students: Perceptions and practices of nurse educators

　看護学領域では、教員が学生を対象とした研究が多く、インフォームドコンセントのプロセス等に関する様々な倫理的問題が指摘されている。看護学生に調査研究を行なう際の看護教員の倫理的配慮についての認識と実践を明らかにする目的で実態調査を実施した。看護系大学に勤務する看護領域を専門とする教員を対象とし、倫理的配慮に関する認識と実践について郵送質問紙調査を実施した（有効回答324部、有効回答率35.6％）。その結果、倫理的配慮への意識は、学生の自由意思の尊重を重視する教員が多かった。しかし、倫理的配慮の実際では、倫理的配慮が十分に行えていないという結果であった。また、質問紙の回収方法と回収時期に関しては、FD研修を受講している群の方が、倫理的配慮が行えており、有意差が認められた（p＜0.05）。FD研修の受講は、教員の倫理的行動へと影響することが考えられ、効果的なFD研修の在り方を検討する必要があることが示唆された。

Background: Participants in nursing research studies are often the students of the educators who are conducting the study. Consequently, ethical issues, including the informed consent process, have attracted attention in the nursing educational environment. Purpose: With a focus on identifying methods for ensuring the voluntary participation of nursing students and ideal methods for obtaining informed consent, the present study investigated nurse educators' perceptions and practices regarding ethical considerations when conducting fact-finding surveys on nursing students.

Methods: A questionnaire on perceptions and practices regarding ethical considerations for student research was sent by postal mail to 909 educators specializing in the area of nursing services who were working at nursing universities. Valid responses were received from 324 educators. Results: Many educators considered that providing an explanation to the students who are potential research participants met their ethical obligations. Furthermore, the more faculty development (FD) courses on data collection methods and research questionnaires the educators participated in, the significantly more closely they paid attention to ethical considerations (p＜0.05). Conclusions: Educators' participation in FD courses is considered to have an impact on their ethical considerations: therefore, effective FD training methods must be carefully considered.