Moral sensitivity as a personal and work attribute of emergency care nurses: a cross-sectional study

Ferraz, Mariana Oliveira Antunes; Dalla Nora, Carlise Rigon; Martins, Maria Manuela Ferreira Pereira da Silva; Barata, Rosinete Souza; Dantas Ferreira, Larissa; Santa Rosa, Darci de Oliveira

doi:10.1590/1518-8345.7178.4311

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Revista Latino-Americana de Enfermagem

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Original Article • Rev. Latino-Am. Enfermagem 32 • 2024 • https://doi.org/10.1590/1518-8345.7178.4311 copy

Moral sensitivity as a personal and work attribute of emergency care nurses: a cross-sectional study^* * Paper extracted from doctoral dissertation “Sensibilidade moral das enfermeiras dos serviços de atenção às urgências”, presented to Universidade Federal da Bahia, Escola de Enfermagem, Salvador, BA, Brazil.

Authorship SCIMAGO INSTITUTIONS RANKINGS

Abstract

Objective:

to analyze the moral sensitivity of Brazilian emergency care nurses according to their personal and work characteristics.

Method:

this is a quantitative, descriptive, cross-sectional study with a convenience sample. A total of 422 nurses from emergency care services in the five regions of Brazil took part. Sociodemographic and work-related information was collected, as well as the Brazilian version of the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire. After approval by the Research Ethics Committee, the data was collected using a self-administered form on the Google Forms Platform, organized using Excel software and analyzed using the R language.

Results:

nurses with longer experience in emergency care services showed higher levels in the interpersonal orientation, moral conflict and moral significance dimensions, while in the professional knowledge dimension, men showed higher levels, as evidenced by items that include confidence in nursing knowledge, intuition, experience and opinion.

Conclusion:

the differences in the nurses’ moral sensitivity were due to their professional experience. It should be emphasized that valuing the sharing of intergenerational experiences in service could be a possible strategy for fostering moral competencies in the field of practice.

Descriptors:
Nursing Care; Emergencies; Emergency Nursing; Nurses; Ethics Nursing; Morals

Highlights:

(1) Nurses’ understanding of moral sensitivity (MS).

(2)Moral sensitivity of emergency care nurses.

(3) Valuing the sharing of intergenerational experiences.

(4) Strategy for fostering moral competencies.

(5) Distinctions in moral sensitivity related to professional experience.

Variables		n*	%
Sex	Female	332	78.67%
Sex	Male	90	21.33%
Position	Hospital emergency	145	34.36%
	Other urgent and emergency services	92	21.80%
	SAMU^† 192	62	14.69%
	24-hour UPA^‡/Emergency medical services	123	29.15%
Role	Direct patient care	329	77.96%
	Coordination	70	16.59%
	Other activities	18	4.26%
	Regulation	5	1.18%
Working hours	Up to 30 hours	106	25.12%
	31 to 44 hours	253	59.95%
	Over 44 hours	63	14.93%
Length of professional expertise	Up to 5 years	181	42.89%
	From 6 to 15 years	177	41.94%
	16 years or more	64	15.17%

	F*	df^†	p ^‡	R^2§
Sex	2.471	1	0.115	0.005
Position	1.168	3	0.318	0.008
Role	0.221	3	0.882	0.001
Working hours	1.285	1	0.260	0.003
Length of experience	3.540	2	0.032^\|\|	0.016
Hours of work/Time of experience	3.126	2	0.045^\|\|	0.014
Sex/Role/Working hours	10.518	1	0.002^\|\|	0.024

Variables	F*	df^†	p ^‡	R^2§
Interpersonal Orientation Dimension
Sex	0.883	1	0.352	0.002
Position	0.645	3	0.593	0.004
Role	0.612	3	0.613	0.004
Working hours	2.869	1	0.089	0.006
Length of experience	4.711	2	0.008^\|\|	0.021
Sex/Role	3.817	3	0.010^\|\|	0.026
Service/Time of experience	2.332	6	0.033^\|\|	0.032
Sex/Role/Hours of work	7.927	1	0.006^\|\|	0.018
Professional Knowledge Dimension
Sex	4.381	1	0.034^\|\|	0.009
Position	0.943	3	0.415	0.006
Role	0.775	3	0.520	0.005
Working hours	0.177	1	0.672	0.000
Sex/Role	3.207	3	0.022^\|\|	0.021
Service/Time of experience	2.104	6	0.049^\|\|	0.028
Hours of work/Time of experience	8.028	2	< 0.001^\|\|	0.035
Moral conflict dimension
Sex	0.939	1	0.331	0.002
Position	1.433	3	0.230	0.010
Role	0.189	3	0.903	0.001
Working hours	0.182	1	0.669	0.000
Length of experience	4.350	2	0.013^\|\|	0.020
Sex/Role/Hours of work	13.567	2	< 0.001^\|\|	0.032
Moral meaning dimension
Sex	0.243	1	0.622	0.000
Position	2.340	3	0.076	0.015
Role	1.160	3	0.329	0.007
Working hours	0.331	1	0.557	0.000
Length of experience	4.749	2	0.008^\|\|	0.021
Sex/Service/Role/Time of experience	3.190	2	0.041^\|\|	0.014

Interpersonal orientation dimension
	Pairs	F*	R^2†	p ^‡	I-J^§
Length of experience	Up to 5 years - 16 years and over	6.586	0.026	0.036^\|\|	0.364
Length of experience	6 to 15 years - 16 years and over	8.619	0.035	0.021^\|\|	0.400
Professional knowledge dimension
	Pairs	F*	R ^2†	p ^‡	I-J ^§
Sex	Female-Male	4.117	0.010	0.048^\|\|	-0.308
Moral conflict dimension
	Pairs	F*	R ^2†	p ^‡	I-J ^§
Length of experience	16 years and over - up to 5 years	7.719	0.030	0.027^\|\|	0.522
Length of experience	16 years and over - 5 to 16 years	7.695	0.031	0.024^\|\|	0.493
Moral meaning dimension
	Pairs	F*	R ^2†	p ^‡	I-J ^§
Length of experience	16 years and over - Up to 5 years	8.017	0.032	0.024^\|\|	0.507

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[1] Corresponding author: Mariana Oliveira Antunes Ferraz E-mail: ferraz.mariana@ufba.br https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7328-6025