Do Intensıve Care Nurses Experıence Moral Dıstress Whıle Carıng for COVID-19 Patıents and are Theır Carıng Behavıors Affected?: A Descriptive Study

Abstract

Background Examining the effect of the level of moral distress experienced by nurses on their care behaviors is important since it has a positive effect on health care services and patient satisfaction. This study was conducted to examine the effect of moral distress experienced by nurses working in intensive care units while caring for COVID-19 patients on their care behaviors. Method The universe of the study consisted of 142 nurses working in COVID-19 intensive care units in a university hospital in Adana, and the study sample consisted of 104 nurses who agreed to participate in the study between April and July 2022. For data collection, Personal Information Form, Moral Distress Scale (MDS) and Caring Behaviors Scale (CBS-24) were used. In statistical analysis; frequency, number and percentage values, independent Student-t test and Mann Whitney U test were used in two-group variables, and simple regression analysis was used to examine the relationship between the two scales. A statistical significance value of p < 0.005 was accepted. Findings: The mean MDS score was 91.75 ± 48.80 and the mean CBS-24 score was 5.49 ± 0.45. According to simple regression analysis, there was no statistically significant relationship between the total and subscale scores of MDS and CBS-24. In the study, it was found that the variables of age, professional experience, staffing, and experiencing moral distress in the way of managing patient care in the institution statistically affected the mean scores of the "knowledge-skill" subscale of CBS-24 (p < 0.05), and those who wanted to resign from nursing at the time of the study had a higher mean total score of MDS (p < 0.05). Conclusion As a result of the study, it was found that nurses had low level of moral distress and high level of positive caring behaviors.