Critical care nurses, ethical decision-making and stress

Area of Science:

• Nursing Ethics
• Critical Care Nursing
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Ethical issues in critical care nursing are well-documented, but the ethical decision-making process and its relationship with stress remain under-explored.
• Existing research lacks systematic investigation into the links between ethical decision-making, stress, and nurse characteristics.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the relationship between specific aspects of ethical decision-making and stress in critical care nurses.
• To investigate the influence of nurse characteristics on ethical decision-making and stress levels.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study was conducted with 61 critical care nurses.
• Data were collected using the Nurse's Ethical Decision Making--ICU Questionnaire and the Health Professions Stress Inventory.

Main Results:

• Nurses utilizing the patient advocacy model reported significantly higher nurse autonomy.
• Perceived anxiety was negatively associated with nurse autonomy.
• Workplace restrictions and stress were found to be interrelated.

Conclusions:

• Nurse autonomy is linked to ethical decision-making models and is negatively impacted by anxiety.
• Workplace factors, including restrictions and stress, play a significant role in the critical care nursing environment.