A Survey on the Level of Moral Distress among Nurses of Special Wards Affiliated to Educational- Therapeutic Centers in Ardabil University of Medical Sciencesin 2016: A Short Report

Background and Objective: Nurses experience moral distress to some degrees in clinical setting. Several factors can cause moral distress in nurses that can diminish their performance. Due to lack of studies in this field in Ardabil city, this research was conducted to determine the level of moral distress among special wards nurses affiliated to educational-therapeutic centers in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted using census methodon all of nurses (118 peoples) working in educational-therapeutic centers in Ardabil University of Medical Sciences in 2016,. Data was collected through demographic questionnaires and Corley’s Moral Distress Scale. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency and percentage, mean and standard deviation) and inferential statistics including Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis H tests. Results: The mean and standard deviation of moral distress score was 108.25±24.18. Among the demographic variables, the executive post (p=0.025), working shift (p=0.011), marital status (p=0.004),and educational level (p=0.033) showed a statistically significant relationship with level of moral distress. Conclusion: In this study, moral distress of special wards nurses was reported at a medium level. According to the undesirable findings, more attention is necessary to reduce nursing experiences of moral distress