Nurses’ Moral Distress in the Emergency Department

Abstract

The failure of nurses in taking action related to their moral beliefs makes nurses' moral comfort not achieved and affects their dissatisfaction in their work, perhaps it also can result in nurses' distress. The purpose of this study was to identify moral distress in the Emergency Department (ED) nurses. The study design used quantitative descriptive with a cross-sectional approach. the instrument used was the moral distress scale-revised (MDS-R) which measures the frequency and intensity of moral distress. The sampling technique used is total sampling. the sample population in this study was ED nurses in one type a hospital in Bandung, with a sample of 51 people. The results showed that the average of the total moral distress in emergency nurses was 50.72 (sd 43.846) and showed that moral distress in ed nurses tended to be low. the duration of nurse work experience is an individual factor that significantly influences moral distress in ed nurses. There is no significant difference in the mean moral distress score with the nurse's intention to quit his job. Qualitative research is needed to determine the causes of other moral distress and moral distress explanations can be given to nurses and students to increase the sensitivity and moral competence of Indonesian nurses.

Does moral distress in emergency department nurses contribute to intentions to leave their post, specialisation, or profession: A systematic review

“…Five ( Hou et al., 2021 ; Fernandez-Parsons et al., 2013 ; Trautmann et al., 2015 ; Zavotsky and Chan, 2016 ; Arinda et al., 2019 ) of the six studies describe processes of convenience sampling. Four of these studies were rated as weak due to a lack of clear reporting, ( Arinda et al., 2019 ) self-selection of participants, ( Trautmann et al., 2015 ; Zavotsky and Chan, 2016 ) or small sample sizes ( Fernandez-Parsons et al., 2013 ; Arinda et al., 2019 ) resulting in them being judged unlikely to be representative of the target population. The fifth study ( Hou et al., 2021 ) describes a clear process of sampling methods, recruitment, and informed consent with a large sample.…”

“…Also concerning were the items scored as “can't tell” on the EPHPP tool, possibly indicating selective reporting in relation to methodologies and study characteristics, which may translate into reporting bias when viewing the results. It was similarly noted that there were reporting errors in one of the studies; ( Arinda et al., 2019 ) values for the intensity of moral distress presented in tables varied from values given in the text. Due to the unreliability of the reported data, it was decided to omit this study from data synthesis for this review.…”

Patient and Provider Emergency Care Experiences Related to Intimate Partner Violence: A Systematic Review of the Existing Evidence

“…Many providers experienced moral distress when supporting patients experiencing IPV was impossible within their imperfect system. Moral distress is defined as a phenomenon in which institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action ( Widianti et al, 2019 ). Emergency providers were frequently disheartened when faced with the reality of inadequate services and follow-up for IPV.…”