Relationship Between Moral Distress and Intent to Leave a Position Among Neonatal Intensive Care Nurses

The phenomenon of moral distress is prevalent in the literature, but little is known about the experiences of nurses working in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). In addition, a paucity of literature exists exploring the relationship between moral distress and intent to leave a position in NICU nurses.

To explore the phenomenon of moral distress in NICU nurses using the Measure of Moral Distress for Health Care Professionals (MMD-HP) survey.

A cross-sectional, descriptive, correlational study was conducted nationally via an electronic survey distributed to NICU nurses who are members of National Association of Neonatal Nurses (NANN). Participants were asked to electronically complete the MMD-HP survey between March 27 and April 8, 2020.

A total of 75 NICU nurses completed the survey, and 65 surveys were included for data analysis. Five situations from the survey had a composite MMD-HP score of more than 400. Results indicated that 41.5% of the NICU nurses surveyed considered leaving a clinical position due to moral distress, and 23.1% of the nurses surveyed left a position due to moral distress.

for Practice: NICU nurses experiencing high MMD-HP scores are more likely to leave a position. Further research is needed to develop strategies useful in mitigating moral distress in and prevent attrition of NICU nurses.

Many NICU nurses experiencing high levels of moral distress have left positions or are considering leaving a clinical position. Longitudinal interventional studies are vital to understand, prevent, and address the root causes of moral distress experienced by NICU nurses.