Journal
NURSING ETHICS
Volume 16, Issue 5, Pages 561-573Publisher
SAGE PUBLICATIONS LTD
DOI: 10.1177/0969733009106649
Keywords
ethical climate; ethical practice; moral distress; nursing ethics; quality work environments
Funding
- Canadian Health Services Research Foundation
- Humanities Research Council Doctoral Fellowship
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Moral distress is a phenomenon of increasing concern in nursing practice, education and research. Previous research has suggested that moral distress is associated with perceptions of ethical climate, which has implications for nursing practice and patient outcomes. In this study, a randomly selected sample of registered nurses was surveyed using Corley's Moral Distress Scale and Olson's Hospital Ethical Climate Survey (HECS). The registered nurses reported moderate levels of moral distress intensity. Moral distress intensity and frequency were found to be inversely correlated with perceptions of ethical climate. Each of the HECS factors ( peers, patients, managers, hospitals and physicians) was found to be significantly correlated with moral distress. Based on these findings, we highlight insights for practice and future research that are needed to enhance the development of strategies aimed at improving the ethical climate of nurses' workplaces for the benefit of both nurses and patients.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available