The effect of moral distress on nursing retention in the acute care setting

Abstract

<p>This descriptive study explored the relationship between moral distress, professional stress and intent to stay in the hospital setting. The study involved 234 nursing participants and was conducted via an online survey over a 90 day period. The survey tool consisted of 51 items taken from known moral distress, professional stress and intent to stay tools. The items were divided into frequency and intensity of occurrence. Various statistical measures were utilized to conclude that moral distress and professional stress factors were significant (p&lt;.001) in predicting an employee&rsquo;s intent to stay. Factor analyses identified factor groupings related to professional recognition, moral distress, patient care, competence, and lack of confidence. Of these, professional recognition and moral distress were the most strongly correlated groupings.</p> <p>The results confirmed that there was a correlation between moral distress and professional stress with regard to the employee&rsquo;s intent to stay at the institution. In addition, moral distress alone was identified as a significant factor (p&lt;.05) under discriminant analyses. Discriminant analyses also noted certain distinct factors as relevant to those employees working in the critical care area. Those factors were related to the intensity of professional competence, patient care, and moral distress issues. Due to the current climate of a shortage of nurses in the acute care setting, it is imperative that nursing management understand the concept of moral distress, as well as professional stress issues. In addition, members of management should alleviate some of the stressors and provide outlets for expression of these concerns.</p>