Antwi Rachel Serwaah, Galanza Jefferson S
Saint Louis University, Baguio City, Philippines.
Belitung Nurs J. 2024 Apr 28;10(2):134-142. doi: 10.33546/bnj.3168. eCollection 2024.
Nurses in adult care settings frequently encounter moral distress due to the daily ethical obligations they must fulfill. In contrast to other healthcare professionals, nurses often grapple with a heightened frequency of moral dilemmas, resulting in increased moral distress.
This study aimed to explore the levels and relationship between moral caring competency and moral distress among Ghanaian nurses in adult care settings.
This quantitative study utilized a descriptive-correlational design. A multistage sampling was used to select three public hospitals. Simple random sampling was used to recruit 231 nurses from the three public hospitals. Data were collected from June to July 2023 using validated questionnaires. The study utilized frequency and percentages, mean and standard deviation, and Spearman's Correlation.
The nurses had a low level of moral caring competency (M = 2.18, SD = 0.340). The composite moral distress score was 227.31, indicating a high level of moral distress among the nurses. Furthermore, there was a moderate, negative significant relationship between moral caring competency and moral distress ( = -.474, = 231, <0.001).
Nurses in public hospitals had limited personal cognitive, affective, and psychomotor abilities to address patient moral issues. The nurses also experience significant moral distress when delivering patient care. Furthermore, to decrease the level of moral distress, moral caring competency should be strengthened among nurses. Therefore, it is recommended that nurse administrators provide adequate organizational support and implement continuous moral training to improve nurses' moral caring competency and mitigate their moral distress. Healthcare policymakers are encouraged to develop or refine policies to navigate moral dilemmas and reduce moral distress among nurses. Future studies employing qualitative designs can explore the influence of culture on moral caring competency within the Ghanaian setting.
成人护理机构中的护士由于必须履行的日常道德义务，经常遭遇道德困扰。与其他医疗保健专业人员相比，护士常常面临更高频率的道德困境，从而导致道德困扰加剧。
本研究旨在探讨成人护理机构中加纳护士的道德关怀能力水平及其与道德困扰之间的关系。
本定量研究采用描述性相关设计。采用多阶段抽样法选取了三家公立医院。运用简单随机抽样从这三家公立医院招募了231名护士。2023年6月至7月期间，使用经过验证的问卷收集数据。本研究使用了频率和百分比、均值和标准差以及斯皮尔曼相关性分析。
护士的道德关怀能力水平较低（M = 2.18，SD = 0.340）。道德困扰综合得分是227.31，表明护士中存在较高水平的道德困扰。此外，道德关怀能力与道德困扰之间存在中度负相关关系（r = -0.474，n = 231，p <0.001）。
公立医院的护士在解决患者道德问题方面的个人认知、情感和心理运动能力有限。护士在提供患者护理时也会经历严重的道德困扰。此外，为了降低道德困扰水平，应加强护士的道德关怀能力。因此，建议护士管理人员提供充分的组织支持并开展持续的道德培训，以提高护士的道德关怀能力并减轻他们的道德困扰。鼓励医疗保健政策制定者制定或完善政策，以应对道德困境并减少护士的道德困扰。未来采用定性设计的研究可以探讨文化对加纳背景下道德关怀能力的影响。
