Moral Sensitivity among Nursing and Midwifery Students and Practitioners: a Comparative Report from Iran

Ethical sensitivity refers to knowledge and practice of ethical issues in a contradictory situation highlighted with self-awareness of one’s role and duty in those particular situations. According to ethics of care, the caregiver is committed to continuous learning and practicing the right options. The present study aimed to compare the moral sensitivity of midwifery and nursing students with that of nurses and midwives in Sabzevar University of Medical Sciences, Iran.

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, participants were nursing students (n=60), 
midwifery students (n=50), nurses (n=100) and midwives (n=38), who were selected by convenience sampling. A validated Persian version of Han’s (2010) Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire (0-100) was used for data collection (α=0.97). Descriptive and analytic statistics were applied for data analysis.

The participants’ mean scores of ethical sensitivity were as follows: midwifery students (90.82±1.47), nursing students (93.06±1.12), midwives (89.76±1.21), and nurses (89.67±1.47). Based on four regression models, significant differences were observed (level of confidence: 95%): midwifery students' mean moral sensitivity score was 6.16 less than that of nursing students; midwifery students' mean score was 4.58 higher than that of midwives; midwives’ mean score was 1.83 less than that of nurses; and nurses’ mean score was 3.01 less than that of nursing students.

The participants' moral sensitivity can be conceived as desirable. The significance of differences may be accounted for by factors such as their role and specialty. Taking measures to sustain and strengthen the moral sensitivity in all medical and healthcare groups are recommended.