The Impact of Moral Sensitivity and Moral Distress on End-of-life Care Performance among Intensive Care Unit Nurses

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of moral sensitivity and moral distress on end-of-life care performance among intensive care unit (ICU) nurses in Korea. The study found (a) a significant relationship between moral sensitivity and end-of-life care performance (r=.22, p=.01), (b) a significant relationship between moral distress and end-of-life care performance (r=.23, p=.01), and (c) no significant relationship between moral sensitivity and moral distress (r=.14, p=.12). Multiple regression analysis indicates that the nurses with higher moral sensitivity and more than 37 months of clinical experience showed higher end-of-life care performance. The result of this study suggest that ethics education programs for ICU nurses should be designed to enhance their moral sensitivity.