Nili Tabak

Tel Aviv University | TAU · Department of Nursing

Purpose The study aimed to (1) examine health behaviors and perceived health among nurses; (2) analyze the effect of nurses’ personal and work characteristics on these variables; and (3) explore the relationship between health behaviors and nurses’ health perception. Design and methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among nurses working in...

The paper aims to analyze the Legal reference to the required nursing professional standards in Israel. This is done based on various scenarios, mainly those described in legal proceedings. Such proceedings may be a criminal charge against the nurse, a damages claim or a disciplinary procedure. These proceedings may have different aims and structur...

Background: Nurses engaging in research are held to research ethics standards. Research aim: Examine experiences, behaviors, and perceptions of nurses in Israel regarding research ethics and explore possible related factors. Research design: An original investigator-designed self-administered questionnaire measured five variables: (a) ethics in...

Purpose: This innovative pilot study was designed to provide research-based evidence on the variables to consider informing a child of his/her cancer diagnosis, so as to minimize the negative psychosocial effects of the cancer experience on survivors. The hypotheses of the study were that "good information" about cancer, will allow the child a bet...

Background: Contemporary medicine and nursing use music to stabilize mood, relieve tension and anxiety, and achieve higher treatment efficiency. Preoperative anxiety may be responsible for cognitive and behavioral changes affecting treatment efficiency. Purpose: To evaluate the effect of background music on preoperative anxiety in elective surge...

The objectives were to study the mental pain of adult pediatric cancer survivors. In view of the findings that despite the fact that pediatric cancer survivors were found to be fairly well adapted there are contrary indications and even evidence for suicide ideation in these survivors. The hypotheses were that pediatric cancer survivors would manif...

Study Aim: To examine the incidence of sexual harassment of women staff by male hospital patients, and how experiencing it differs between doctors, nurses and nurse aides. Methods: 434 women staff in three large Israeli hospitals completed an anonymous self-administered questionnaire on (a) the frequency of sexual harassment by patients, (b) the em...

Background: Controversy exists regarding whether it is justified to provide treatment to severely preterm infants who are likely to remain severely damaged, including questions about the place of active/passive euthanasia in treatment decisions. The issue is not merely a matter of the long-term prognosis but also of the social values and personal b...

The benefits and disadvantages of posttransplant contact between a donor family and the organ recipient are disputed. In this study far more contacters reported benefits rather than disadvantages and noncontacters reported the opposite. The dissatisfaction of noncontacters with no contact was high: no less than 60% wanted some form of contact in th...

A great deal of research has considered the dynamics of family violence and the way that family violence is processed and handled in the criminal justice system. Very little nursing research has considered the dynamics of older persons' maltreatment in long-term care. Older people living in a residential setting have the right to respectful care ba...

Using Ajzen and Madden's Theory of Planned Behavior, this study investigates factors which influence nurses' intention to apply clinical practice guidelines in their daily ward work. A convenience sample of 91 nurses in internal medicine wards in three Israeli hospitals answered four questionnaires. Data were processed by Pearson correlation coeffi...

To investigate the intentions of nurses and nursing students to telling the truth to patients and families, based on the Theory of Planned Behavior which examines intention to perform behaviours. In recent decades, the perception that patients have a moral and legal right to truthful and reliable information has become dominant. However, the study...

Israeli-Arab birthing mothers use epidural anesthesia in labor markedly less than their Israeli-Jewish counterparts. This study modeled the mothers' choice to agree to epidural anesthesia or not, using the Ajzen and Madden Theory of Reasoned Action. A convenience sample of one hundred was drawn from women coming to two hospitals to give birth. The...

This research was designed to assess nurses' perceptions, knowledge, attitudes and intentions in relation to nurse participation in Healthcare Ethics Committees (HECs). A convenience sample of 87 nurses from five Israeli hospitals completed a self-administered questionnaire, whose data were then analyzed by quantitative statistics. The main finding...

To understand how the recipients of cadaver-harvested organs and donor families perceive the role of the transplant team and transplant coordinator in bringing them into contact. Studies dispute the benefits and disbenefits of contact and their differential weights with the two parties. For the donor family, contact with the recipient after a succe...

Background and aims: The medical progress treating infants increase survival, sometimes in the expense of increasing neuro-developmental morbidity. As care givers we believe that sometimes death is not the worst outcome. There is a lot of debate what will be the best way to treat (or not to treat) babies with poor prognosis. It is important to iden...

The aim of this study is to use the Azjen & Madden Theory of Planned Behavior to identify the factors influencing the intention or non-intention of community nurses to report adverse incidents. A convenience sample of community nurses completed a questionnaire. The findings fully or partially confirmed the study's three hypotheses. The factors foun...

Objective. In recent years, more and more delivery rooms have allowed husbands/partners to be present during a Cesarean section Nonetheless, many still oppose the idea. The study is designed to investigate the attitudes of Israeli gynecologists, anesthetists, operating-room nurses, and midwives on this issue. Design. The study's theoretical model c...

Nursing Student cheating is a cause for concern. Research to examine the attitudes of nursing students to academic cheating and what this may predict for their professional practice after graduation was conducted. A convenience sample of 228 students found a strong tendency to see academic dishonesty as normative. The most compelling factor in the...

In this study, we examined the perception of actual and ideal ethical climate type among 95 nurses working in the internal medicine wards of one central hospital in the state of Israel. We also examined whether nurses' demographic characteristics influence that perception and if a relationship between perceptions of an actual and an ideal ethical c...

The purpose of this study was to (a) investigate in the Israeli context how patient violence towards staff (nurses and auxiliaries) affects their mental state and professional performance; and (b) to investigate how the variable, internal/external locus of control, mediates the effects of this violence. Four of the five hypotheses were confirmed: t...

This research focuses on the factors that influence nurse' stands towards mercy killing and on the relationship between these factors and the intention of action among nurses in hospitals. Within this research, the theory of Reasoned Action of Fishbein & Ajzen is used. The purpose of this theory is to understand the individual's behavior and to pre...

Nurses are increasingly having to face the dilemma of nursing not only the victims of terrorist attacks but also the terrorist attackers. This study investigated the declared practical intentions of Israeli nursing students regarding their care of both victims and attackers and tried to identify which variables predicted the different intentions.A...

Introduction: Whether to allow family presence or not is the subject of sharp controversy among health care professionals. The factors which the professional literature shows influence support for the idea are type of job, seniority, social pressure at the workplace, training, cultural background and the degree of invasiveness of the procedure. The...

Posthumous sperm retrieval is still a controversial procedure. The Israel Ministry of Health has recently issued guidelines to regulate the procedure and a recent unusual petition in Israel for posthumous retrieval sheds new and interesting light on the dilemmas involved. This paper examines the petition, both in its own right and by comparing it t...

Objective: To outline the case for child patients who are minors to be allowed to participate in the medical decision-making process and make significant choices. Setting: The paediatric oncology department of a major teaching hospital in Israel. Subject: A 15-year-old boy from a strictly religious Jewish family was diagnosed with acute myeloblasti...

The debate continues about whether people have a duty to pass on the positive results of their genetic tests to relatives who are at risk from the same disease, and, should they refuse, whether physicians and genetic counselors then have the duty to do so. To date, the role and views of nurses in this debate have not been investigated. In our study...

A significant source of stress in nursing is conflict with physicians. There is evidence in the published literature that different ways of resolving conflicts generate more or less stress for those involved. This research examines what tactics nurses adopt to resolve conflicts with doctors and how the different tactics affect their level of stress...

An important current model of patients' coping mechanisms assumes an interaction between coping style, the understanding of explanations about illness and its treatment, and the level of anxiety about that treatment. The model shows an inverse correlation between anxiety and cooperation. The study was designed to test this model in the context of m...

The aim of this study is to examine the connection between the health beliefs of hospital staff (doctors, nurses and auxiliary staff) and their failure to report needlestick injuries. Needlestick injury to hospital staff is quite frequent and can result in infections and disease, but staff frequently do not report the injury despite their awareness...

The issue of sexual relations in nursing homes between patients with Alzheimer-related dementia is in ward practice largely characterized by confusion and ignorance. Staff are seriously conflicted on how to respond and almost totally untrained on the subject. Patients are being mistreated and humiliated. Central to this state of affairs is insuffic...

This study was set out to test the quality of the decision-making process of healthy volunteers in clinical trials. Researchers fear that the decision to volunteer for clinical trials is taken inadequately and that the signature on the consent forms, meant to affirm that consent was 'informed', is actually insubstantial. The study design was quasi-...

The success of mammal cloning in 1997 has brought the issue of human cloning into public discussion. Human cloning has several aspects and potential applications for use in both reproductive and non-reproductive matters. The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge and attitudes toward human cloning in Israel. Data from 120 respondents (68 h...

Sexual harassment is a continuum of expression of human behavior ranging from attraction and flirtation at one extreme through to violence at the other. Four main models have been proposed to account for the phenomenon. These include the biological, organizational, sociocultural and the spill-over models. In this article, the term spill-over is use...

In August 2001, the Israeli Ministry of Health issued its Limitation of Smoking in Public Places Order, categorically forbidding smoking in hospitals. This forced the mental health system to cope with the issue of smoking inside psychiatric hospitals. The main problem was smoking by compulsorily hospitalized psychiatric patients in closed wards. An...

The research reported in this article examined the influence of nurses' attitudes, subjective norms and perceived behavioral control on maintaining patients' privacy during hospitalization. The data were gathered from 109 nurses in six internal medicine wards at an Israeli hospital. The research was based on the theories of reasoned action and plan...

This quality improvement project investigates the ethical dilemmas faced by nursing staff (ie, registered nurses, practical nurses, and nurse aids) using restraints for dementia patients in "realistic" and "idealistic" situations. There is a need to offer adequate care for a growing number of patients suffering from dementia and to ensure their saf...

This article discusses nursing education and changing paradigms of knowledge, emphasizing critical thinking, nursing praxis, and the place of the educator as a role model who provides knowledge, facilitates critical thinking, and teaches students how to cope with the knowledge. It interprets the connection between knowledge and power as a potential...

This study reviews the ethical dilemmas of nursing staff about using restraints on patients suffering from dementia in two types of health care settings in Israel: internal medicine wards of three general hospitals; and psychogeriatric wards of three nursing homes. The nurses' level of knowledge about the Patient's Rights Law, the Israeli Code of E...

Work satisfaction is known to be one of the major factors related to nurses' quality of care. Being able to apply the professional principles of training influences work satisfaction. The nursing ethical code is a good manifestation of these professional principles. The everyday strains on nurses' work might compromise the amount of energy invested...

In this study the importance of the concept of autonomy among residents in geriatric institutions was investigated. By granting the residents more autonomy, their satisfaction increased, their daily routine changed, and their participation in social activity increased. Correlation was found between the degree of autonomy and the degree of the parti...

Although resistance to care can have a major impact on the provision of care, relatively limited research has been reported on the topic. This research examined differences in the use of interventions by nurses in different care settings to manage resistance to care with eating and dressing. A convenience sample of 50 nurses (34 working in psychiat...

Nursing students are taught the nursing code of ethics and how to deal with ethical questions and dilemmas. After graduation, they are expectedto adhere to this code, but as students do they? We examined student nurses' and their instructors' position regarding students' obligations in treating patients. In order to identify the students' perspecti...

The attrition of students in the undergraduate nursing program was evaluated. The value of the admission interview and its preferred nature were assessed by questionnaires filled by candidates and faculty. It was found that although interviewing was only partially effective in screening potential drop-outs, including those who left the programme on...

To address the violence phenomenon in psychiatric institutions towards the staff, to find the causes of these phenomena and to examine effective methods that will help to prevent the occurrence and/or confront it. To break the "conspiracy of silence" around the subject matter and to raise the awareness of all personnel in order to formulate a polic...

The paper emphasizes the changing role of the nurse in the millenium. The changes will be in three basic fields: 1. Education: In education, the criteria for acceptance to nursing school will become higher, so that the requirement for trained nurses will increase. The new nurse will be focused on the role of management and leadership. 2. Service: T...

The subject of sexuality among elderly patients with dementia was examined, focusing on two main aspects: the sexual behaviour of institutionalized elderly people with dementia; and the reactions of other patients, staff and family members to this behaviour. The behaviour was found to be mostly heterosexual and ranged from love and caring to romanc...

The old get equal care: Myth or realityA national ethics survey was conducted of all registered nurses participating in post-basic specialisation nursing courses in Israel over a one-year period (1994–95) to identify ethical situations which confront Israeli nurses caring for patients of different age groups and in different clinical settings. This...

Domestic violence is a complex problem, and its victims are women from all social classes and positions. The "cycle of beating" where tension accumulates, and then assault is followed by excuses and reconciliation, puts the battered women in dilemma. One conflict is that of exposure of intimate family details, and the other the guilt for the conseq...

Ehrenfeld M, Tabak N, Bronner G, Bergman R. International Journal of Nursing Practice 1997; 3: 255–259 Ethical dilemmas concerning sexuality of elderly patients suffering from dementia This study endeavoured to clarify the ethical dilemmas concerning sexuality encountered by nurses caring for elderly patients suffering from dementia, and to assist...

The authors explored the hypothesis that the relationship between need for structure and cognitive structuring behavior is moderated by the ability to achieve cognitive structure (AACS). Need for structure is defined as the preference to use cognitive structuring as a means to achieve certainty. AACS refers to the extent to which individuals are ab...

The purpose of this article is to deliberate the moral and legal dilemma entailed in the weapon of the labour strike as a pressure tactic on the Israeli Finance Ministry regarding job slots, budgets and, in effect, violating the collective agreement signed by the nurses and impairing patients' treatment, as opposed to refraining from striking and s...

The purpose of this article is to examine the caregiver's feelings of anger, the causes of these feelings as described by the caregivers and their reactions. Twenty female caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients participated in a support group at a psychogeriatric centre for 3 years. The group was directed by a registered nurse and a social work...

Tabak N, Ehrenfeld M, Alpert R. International Journal of Nursing Practice 1997; 3: 84–88 Feelings of anger among caregivers of patients with Alzheimer’s disease The purpose of this article is to examine the caregiver’s feelings of anger, the causes of these feelings as described by the caregivers and their reactions. Twenty female caregivers of Alz...

The purpose of this article is to analyze questions on a complex ethic, medical and caring dilemma about reasons to continue or suspend compelled alimentation in really old patients carrying progressive acute dementia. Traditionally, the principle of life holiness supports the idea that life should be extended at all costs and the decision to conti...

The purpose of this paper is to emphasize a social phenomenon that exists in Israel: immoral medicine. In recent years, nurses have been exposed to many instances of immoral medicine in hospitals. We want to protest about the demands for money from patients who are waiting for surgical intervention, arouse the medical community’s conscience concern...

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the meaning, concept and attitude of nurses to whistle-blowing on the subjects: negligence, dangers, corruption in hospitals or community.

Many nurses working in hospitals, especially in the wards, as well as nurses in community clinics have been involved in treating AIDS sufferers. In spite of clear and widespread information available to professionals, strong apprehensions still exist as to the contagious nature of the disease. A survey was carried out in order to assess the attitud...

Decision making is an important daily nursing activity. Given contradictory past findings concerning the ease of use cognitive schema for reaching decisions among experts and novices, we chose to examine consistency of information as a parameter that may clarify the process of decision making. Ninety-two experienced nurses and 65 nursing students r...

The aim of the study was to examine changes in patient behavior that occurred as a consequence of looking in a mirror. How do dementia patients relate to their image in the mirror? Is the use of the mirror effective in raising levels of self-awareness, calmness and satisfaction? The survey was carried out on 100 patients suffering from dementia: 67...

This article presents the complicated ethical dilemmas that arise in the procedures and proceedings of the Nursing Disciplinary Committee, which deals with matters of life and death (e.g. patients' rights to quality and safe care, professional integrity and accountability, and the nurse's future). The article also describes the composition and func...

Ethical attitudes towards pregnant women were examined by using a questionnaire among 50 nurses, 50 midwives and 100 nursing students (third and fourth years). The main findings show that nurses and students differ in: (1) their knowledge of the Code of Ethics; (2) their protection of patients' rights with regard to secrecy and privacy; and (3) the...

In Israel, senior citizens spend more time in hospitals than do members of any other age group. Chronic, age-related illnesses make the senior population especially dependent on the hospital system. Hospitalization, however, has its own risks-frequent and/or prolonged hospital stay can increase susceptibility to infections and complications, and ca...

The author builds upon the concept of informed consent whereby the patient agrees to undergo experimental medical procedures. Ideally, the doctor will inform the patient fully on the proposed treatment so as to assure the patient's right to participate intelligently and freely in the decisions regarding his treatment. The nurse is drawn into the do...

This paper discusses the occupational health nurse's dilemmas by illustrating two cases faced by nurses in occupational health practice and setting out their analysis according to a decision-making model. The counter-interests, which may offend the principles of conserving professional occupational ethics among service consumers and employers as we...

This article deals with the importance of documentation, recording and reporting as a means of communication in daily medical and nursing practice. It points out the common deficiencies in this respect and describes the legal, clinical, medical and nursing implications of proper reporting. The medical staff is often not sufficiently aware of the im...

Nurses involved in organ transplantation often face divided loyalties between the organ donor's family and the recipient. In this article, an Israeli nurse describes how such decisions must be dealt with using an ethical approach which preserves patients' rights and dignity.

This article deals with the extent of information which should be provided by doctors to cancer patients prior to the implementation of experimental treatment. It describes the various factors which affect the extent of information disclosed. The study compared oncological patients to vascular patients. From the results of the research one can see...

This article deals with the medical ethical dilemma in performing experiments on humans. Its aim is to examine and offer solutions to the complex subject of medical experimentation in relation to the medical community, society, the patient, doctor and nurse, keeping in mind the importance of its benefits to the patient and to medical research. Doct...