| ORIGINAL ARTICLE |
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| Year : 2023 | Volume
: 7
| Issue : 1 | Page : 8-14 |
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The presence of moral distress among critical care nurses in Saudi Arabia
Jennifer de Beer1, Dalia Sunari1, Seema Nasser2, Zahra Alnasser2, Hawazen Rawas3, Hend Alnajjar3
1 King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
2 College of Nursing, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center; Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
3 College of Nursing, King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Sciences; King Abdullah International Medical Research Center; Ministry of the National Guard - Health Affairs, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
Correspondence Address:
Jennifer de Beer
King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center, Jeddah
Saudi Arabia
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/sccj.sccj_29_22
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Background: Moral distress (MD) was first defined as a situation in which one knows the right thing to do, but institutional constraints make it nearly impossible to pursue the right course of action. This can be even more challenging within the critical care context as critical the care context imposes physical, emotional, and cognitive stressors on critical care nurses. Methodology: A descriptive quantitative approach was followed, and the critical care units of two tertiary hospitals in two provinces in Saudi Arabia were included in the study, yielding a cluster sample size of 361 critical care nurses. Data were collected using the MD Scale-Revised, for which reliability and validity have been established. Results: The mean total MD experienced by respondents was 77.15 ± 58.32, representing a low level of MD. The statement that nurses indicated as causing the most distress was “follow the family's wishes to continue life support even though I believe it is not in the best interest of the patient” with 5.98 ± 5.04. Furthermore, 17.5% (n = 63) of nurses had considered leaving their positions because of MD. MD was the highest in the Emergency department with 102.12 ± 70.59; as experience increased by 1 year, the MD score increased by 11.56. Conclusion: When dealing with issues related to futile care, critical care nurses experience MD. Therefore, future research is required to develop appropriate interventions with which to address critical care-related MD.
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