Moral distress and compassion fatigue in nurses of neonatal intensive care unit
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Zahra Noghanchi Saleh 1, Laleh Loghmani 2, Maryam Rasouli 3, Maliheh Nasiri 4, Fariba Borhani 5 *
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1 Master Student in Neonatal Intensive Care, Student Research Committee, International Branch, ,School of Nursing Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran2 Assistant Professor, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Bam University of Medical Sciences, Bam, Iran3 Associate Professor, Department of Pediatrics, School of Nursing Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran4 Assistant Professor, Department of Biostatistics, School of Nursing Midwifery, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran5 Associate Professor, Department of Medical - Surgical Nursing, School of Nursing Midwifery, Medical Ethics and Law Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran* Corresponding Author

Abstract

Background:
Nurses working in neonatal intensive care units are increasingly faced with a moral distress due to nature of their profession. It is anticipated that this amount of moral distress can have a negative effect on their affection and compassion towards the patient. The aim of this study was to determine the correlation between moral distress and compassion fatigue in NICU Nurses.

Method:
This descriptive correlational study was conducted with 172 nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit in educational hospitals in 2016. Data were collected using demographic information form, Corley’s moral distress questionnaire, Figley’s compassion fatigue. Data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistical tests.

Findings:
The mean score of moral distress in the range (0-5) in the repetition dimension was 0.62 ± 2.01 and in the dimension of intensity was 0.89 ± 3.11. The average of compassion fatigue in the range (0-6) was 0.50 ± 3.94, normal to high. In examining the dimensions of compassion fatigue, the highest score belonged to the degree of compassion satisfaction 0.82 ± 4.48 and then the exhaustion 0.53 ± 3.70 and post-traumatic stress 0.84 ± 3.63.

Conclusion:
The results of this study indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between the intensity of moral distress and compassion fatigue (P= 0.001 r= 0.436), but between the frequency of moral distress and compassion fatigue, there was no relationship (P= 0.142 r= 0.137). Significant correlation was found between age (r = 0.22), nursing experience (r = 0.24) and work experience in neonatal intensive care unit (r = 0.187) with compassion fatigue. The results of this study indicate that extreme moral distress can be related with compassion fatigue.

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License

This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Article Type: Original Article

ELECTRON J GEN MED, 2019, Volume 16, Issue 2, Article No: em116

https://doi.org/10.29333/ejgm/93473

Publication date: 22 Apr 2019

Online publication date: 15 Jul 2018

Article Views: 3995

Article Downloads: 2424

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