Relationship between moral distress and moral courage in nurses

摘要

In the nursing profession, moral distress is a challenge thatc an have different consequences. The nurses’udmoral courage to make the right decision can play an important role in the prevention of moral distress, andudthus promote moral comfort. The present study examined the relationship between moral distress and moraludcourage in nurses. In this study, 313 nurses from hospitals in southern Khorasan Province were selectedudthrough quota sampling, and Corley’s Moral Distress Scale and the Professional Moral Courage Scale byudSekerka, et al. were used for data collection. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive and analyticaludstatistics. The findings showed a significant relationship between the intensity of moral distress and moraludcourage (P = 0.03, r = - 0.44). From a range of 0 - 5, the mean of moral distress was 3.7 ± 0.5 in terms ofudintensity, and 3.55 ± 0.86 in terms of frequency. The mean score of moral courage was calculated at 3.33 ±ud0.46 from a range of 1 - 5.udThe significant correlation between moral distress and moral courage strongly suggests that high levels ofudmoral courage in nurses can play an important role in controlling moral distress. Determining the factors thatudcreate moral courage and developing strategies and circumstances such as promoting an appropriate moraludclimate could play a major role in encouraging moral behavior and controlling moral distress.