Turkiye Klinikleri Journal of Nursing Sciences

.: ORIGINAL RESEARCH
The Correlation Between Nurses' Moral Distress and Attitudes of Ethical Principles: Correlational and Descriptive Study
Hemşirelerin Ahlaki Sıkıntıları ile Etik İlkelere Yönelik Tutumları Arasındaki İlişki: İlişkisel ve Tanımlayıcı Çalışma
Pervin ŞAHİNERa , Tülay YILDIRIM ÜŞENMEZb , Rukiye DEMİR DİKMENc
aKocaeli University Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Midwifery, Kocaeli, Türkiye
bDicle University Atatürk Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Nursing, Department of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing, Diyarbakır, Türkiye
cBingöl University Vocational School of Health Services, Department of Health Care Services, Elderly Care Program, Bingöl, Türkiye
Turkiye Klinikleri J Nurs Sci. 2025;17(3):933-40
doi: 10.5336/nurses.2024-106883
Article Language: EN
Full Text
ABSTRACT
 Objective: Nurses are health professionals who experience the most moral distress during their ethical practices. Experiencing moral distress may negatively affect nurses' professional practices. The current study was conducted to determine whether there is correlation between nurses' moral distress and attitudes of ethical principles. Material and Methods: The sample of this correlational and descriptive study comprised of 100 nurses. The descriptive characteristics form, the Moral Distress Questionnaire (MDQ), and the Scale for Attitudes of Ethical Principles (SAEP) were utilized to collect data. Results: The total mean score of the nurses were 45.62±16.44 on the MDQ, and 68.33±15.26 on the SAEP. There was no statistically significant positive and weak correlation between MDQ and SAEP (r=0.109, p>0.05). Conclusion: The results revealed that the nurses had a moderate level of moral distress and attitudes of ethical principles. Additionally, there was no statistically significant correlation between nurses' moral distress and attitudes of ethical principles. It is recommended that managers, planners and educators should make efforts to ensure that nurses are aware of their moral distress and to increase their professionalism.

Keywords: Attitudes of ethical principles; moral distress; nurse
ÖZET
 Amaç: Hemşireler, etik uygulamaları sırasında en fazla ahlaki sıkıntı yaşayan sağlık profesyonelleridir. Ahlaki sıkıntı yaşamak, hemşirelerin mesleki uygulamalarını olumsuz olarak etkileyebilir. Bu çalışma, hemşirelerin ahlaki sıkıntı ve etik ilkelere yönelik tutumları arasındaki ilişkiyi incelemek amacıyla yapılmıştır. Gereç ve Yöntemler: İlişki arayıcı tanımlayıcı türdeki bu çalışmanın örneklemini 100 hemşire oluşturdu. Verilerin toplanmasında tanıtıcı özellikler formu, Hemşirelikte Ahlaki Sıkıntı Ölçeği (HASÖ) ve Etik İlkelere Yönelik Tutum Ölçeği (EİYTÖ) kullanıldı. Bulgular: Hemşirelerin HASÖ toplam puan ortalaması 45,62±16,44, EİYTÖ toplam puan ortalaması 68,33±15,26'dır. HASÖ toplam puan ortalaması ile EİYTÖ toplam puan ortalaması arasında anlamlı olmayan pozitif yönlü zayıf bir ilişki olduğu saptandı (r=0,109, p>0,05). Sonuç: Hemşirelerin ahlaki sıkıntı ve etik ilkelere tutumlarının orta düzey olduğu belirlendi. Ayrıca hemşirelerin ahlaki sıkıntı düzeyleri ile etik ilkelere yönelik tutumları arasında bir ilişki olmadığı da tespit edildi. Yöneticilerin, planlamacıların ve eğitmenlerin, hemşirelerin ahlaki sıkıntılarının farkında olmalarını sağlama ve profesyonelliğini artırma için çaba göstermeleri önerilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler: Etik ilkelere yönelik tutum; ahlaki sıkıntı; hemşire
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