Moral Sensitivity and Moral Distress in Critical Care Unit Nurses

The present study was carried out aiming to determine the relationship between moral distress and moral sensitivity among nurses.
This descriptive analytical study was conducted on 257 nurses employed in teaching hospitals affiliated to Birjand University of Medical Sciences (South Khorasan) in 2015. Available sampling was done among the nurses working in intensive care units (ICU, CCU, NICU and dialysis) in the whole province meeting the inclusion criteria. The data collection tool was a three-part questionnaire consisting of the demographic information questionnaire, Corly moral distress questionnaire, and the Korean version of the Hun moral sensitivity questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed running SPSS statistical software version 16.
Ethical Considerations: Written consent was obtained from all participants. Additionally, all of them were assured of anonymity of the questionnaires and confidentiality of the information.
Findings: There was no significant relationship between moral distress and the nurses’ moral sensitivity (P=0.2). The mean scores (out of 5) were 3.5±0.66 for the total moral distress, 3.5±0.75 for the intensity of moral distress, and 3.54±0.66 for the frequency of moral distress, respectively. The mean for moral sensitivity (out of 4) was 3.1±0.45. There was a statistically significant relationship between moral sensitivity and moral distress with age and years of work experience, and also between moral distress and the type of the ward (P The findings indicates that nurses who do not have sufficient executive power for moral performance will experience moral distress, despite their high and low levels of moral sensitivity. Thus, it is necessary hospital administrators to take some specific measures to carry out periodic evaluation of this phenomenon, and hold some codified trainings in this regard.