The Relationship Between Nurses’ Perception of Ethical Work Climate And Moral Distress at Kafr El-Dawar General Hospital

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Department of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University.

2 Professor of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University

3 Lecturer of Nursing Administration, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University

Abstract

Background: The ethical work climate was defined as " a type of work climate that is best
understood as a group of prescriptive climates reflecting the organizational procedures, policies, and
practices with moral consequences.", while the moral distress was defined as "" a broad concept that
discusses a range of experiences of morally constrained individuals and can be understood as a
response to the individual, institutional, or social constraints". Aim: To identify the relationship
between staff nurses' perception of ethical work climate and moral distress at Kafr El-Dawar
General Hospital. Methods: A descriptive, correlation research design. Setting: at Kafr Al-Dawar
General Hospital, in all inpatient care units (N=12) and intensive care units (N=8). Subject all staff
nurses (289 nurses). Tools: two tools were used, Tool (I): Hospital ethical climate survey and Tool
(II): Moral distress scale. Conclusion: The present study revealed that there was statistically
significant relationship between total ethical work climate and total moral distress.
Recommendations: Nursing managers need to present continuous professional strategies and
interventions for managing staff nurses’ moral stress and ethical problems in order to foster and
enhance supportive work environment, improve job satisfaction, and limit 

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