Determining the relationship between moral intelligence and compassion fatigue in intensive care nurses

Compassion and moral intelligence occupy a very significant place in ensuring quality in health care services, increasing patient satisfaction, reducing side effects, increasing patient safety and accelerating the healing process.

This study was conducted to determine the relationship between moral intelligence and compassion fatigue in nurses working in intensive care units.

In this descriptive and cross-sectional study, 180 nurses working in intensive care units of a hospital comprised the population of the study. Of them, 114 who agreed to participate in the study were included in the study sample. The Personal Information Form, Yakut Moral Intelligence Scale (YMIS) and Compassion Fatigue-Short Scale were used as data collection tools. The scales and forms used in the study were created on Google Form. Nurses were visited in intensive care units, and the forms were given to them. Then the participating nurses filled in the forms.

Of the nurses participating in the study, 69.3% were women and 65.4% had a bachelor's degree. The analysis of the correlation between the scores obtained from the sub-dimensions of the YMIS by the nurses participating in the study demonstrated that there was a negative, low-level significant relationship between the self-control and kindness sub-dimensions of the YMIS. As the nurses' compassion fatigue levels increased, their self-control and kindness levels decreased.

It can be said that as compassion fatigue levels increase in nurses, their moral intelligence levels decrease. Therefore, diagnosing compassion fatigue in nurses and taking precautions to prevent them from suffering from fatigue are of significant importance.

By determining the healthy intelligence and compensation spending levels of health workers, organizing maid training will increase the service and care provided.