Ethical considerations
The research proposal, data collection instruments,
and informed consent form were approved by the
Research Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Nursing,
Prince of Songkla University. The data collection
started when the approval from the hospitals and nursing
authorities were obtained. The participants were
informed of the voluntary nature of their participation
and what was expected of them in this study. They
were assured that their personal data would be kept
confidential and their anonymity strictly protected.
They had the right to withdraw from the study at any
time for any reason without penalty.