Emotions, critical thinking and decision making among nurses working in health facilities located in Kampala and Wakiso District

Abstract

The study established the relationship between emotions, critical thinking and decision making among nurses in Kampala and Wakiso Districts. The study adopted a cross-sectional research design with attempt to collect data at a specific point in time by using the Snells’s self-administered questionnaire to 80 students. The data analysis was as follows, the study findings show that; there is a significant relationship between emotions and critical thinking, there is a significant relationship between critical thinking and decision making and that there is a significant relationship between emotions and decision making. The researcher concluded that emotions can influence critical thinking by affecting how information is processed and decisions are made. For example, intense anger might cloud judgement, while fear can sharpen focus in a crisis, the way nurses analyze, evaluate and make judgements can influence their way of making making informed choices based on available information and that emotions can influence decision making by sharpening ones’s prefrences and risk tolerance. For instance, fear might make some one more risk-averse while excitement might make them more inclined to take risks.