Association between moral distress and supporting elements of moral deliberation in nurses

Objective: to identify the association between moral distress and the supporting elements of moral deliberation in Brazilian nurses. Method: a cross-sectional study conducted with Brazilian nurses working in health services at different complexity levels. The research protocol consisted of the Brazilian Scale of Moral Distress in Nurses, a sociodemographic and labor questionnaire, and a list of bases and ethical elements used for moral deliberation. For analysis, descriptive statistics, chi-square test, and Poisson regression were used. Results: 1,226 nurses took part in the study. The 12 elements associated with the moral deliberation process were classified as important for nurses’ actions, especially the professional experience acquired, code of ethics/law of professional practice, and ethical and bioethical principles. The relationship of moral distress showed higher prevalence in the Beliefs, culture and values of the patient, Beliefs and personal values, and Intuition and Subjectivity elements. Conclusion: the results showed a balance between the subjective criteria of professional experience and the objective ones of deontology for moral deliberation.