Caring for victims of child maltreatment: Pediatric nurses' moral distress and burnout

Moral distress is a significant concern for nurses as it can lead to burnout and intentions to leave the profession. Pediatric nurses encounter stressful and ethically challenging situations when they care for suspected victims of child maltreatment. Data on pediatric nurses' moral distress are limited, as most research in this field has been done in adult inpatient and intensive care units.

The purpose of this study was to describe pediatric nurses' moral distress and evaluate the impact of caring for suspected victims of child maltreatment on nurses' moral distress, burnout, and intention to leave. Design and method: This descriptive cross-sectional correlational study was conducted in a mid-Atlantic, urban area Magnet pediatric level I trauma center that cares for over 1800 cases of suspected child maltreatment annually. An anonymous electronic survey was sent to all the nurses working at the hospital.

Institutional Review Board approval was received from the first author's university and the hospital where the study was conducted.

Overall, nurses (N = 146) reported low levels of moral distress with a mean score of 59.54 (SD = 49.22) and a range of 0-300 on the Moral Distress Scale Neonatal-Pediatric version. Although the frequency of caring for suspected child maltreatment victims did not affect nurses' moral distress, caring for victims with fatal maltreatment contributed to nurses' intention to leave, χ² (1) = 5.35, p = 0.02.

The results of this study add to the understanding of moral distress in pediatric nursing. Caring for victims with fatal maltreatment impacts pediatric nurses' intention to leave.