TAKING PAINS OVER PATIENT PRIVACY BY NURSES

Purpose: the research was conducted to determine whether nurses pay attention to patient privacy during their practices or not.method: the research was descriptive and carried out in may 2012 with the volunteer participation of 100 nurses out of 110 working at a private hospital in istanbul. data were collected with a questionnaire consisting of questions regarding demographic features and patient privacy. they were analyzed with percentage, mean and chi-square tests.results: it was seen that 38% of nurses that participated in the research were in the age group of28-32,54,5% were married, 55% had graduated from vocational school of health, 83,7% had the status of nurse, and 38,4% had 1-10 years of professional experience. 75,8% stated that they had read the part related to protection of patients' rights and respect for privacy of the patients' rights directive and 55% that they hadn't participated in trainings/seminars about protection of patients' rights/privacy. 69% noted that they pay attention to patient privacy during their services whereas 83,7% noted that they always do. 91,8% expressed that they primarily maintain privacy related to patient's body and 43,9% explained that privacy related to patient's private life and personal data could be violated. 94,9% indicated that they believe confidentiality and privacy are fundamental rights, %91,8 noted that they obey with rules/applications to prevent labelling patients for their diseases, and 89,9% stated that they enter patient rooms after permission and provide the environment that enables the patient to be dressed in privacy.conclusion: it was seen that, confidentiality and personal privacy of patients were mostly respected by the nurses working at the private hospital where the research was made. however, two of every five nurses stated that their privacy related to patient's personal information and private life and confidentiality regarding the patient's health status were violated. in addition, the majority of nurses stated as lack of tracking and monitoring systems regarding the breach of privacy. eventually, the developing of tracking and monitoring systems regarding the privacy violation and the increasing of the awareness of the nursing group with the relevant training and case discussions are recommended.