ArticleInternational journal of environmental research and public health2022
Moral Distress of Intensive Care Nurses: A Phenomenological Qualitative Study Two Years after the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Article in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
6 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 14 citations in OpenAlex.
- Experiences of team collaboration among intensive care nurses during COVID-19: a qualitative systematic review and meta-synthesis.Frontiers in public health · 2026Pooled it
- Impact of restricted family presence during the COVID-19 pandemic on critically ill patients, families, and critical care clinicians: a qualitative systematic review.BMC health services research · 2024Pooled it
- Moral distress: sometimes, there is no fix.Medicine, health care, and philosophy · 2026Review
- Moral caring competency and moral distress among Ghanaian nurses in adult care settings: A descriptive-correlational study.Belitung nursing journal · 2024Article
- Intensive care nurses' experiences of caring for isolated COVID-positive patients during first wave of COVID-19.Journal of the Intensive Care Society · 2023Article
- How Do Nursing Students Perceive Moral Distress? An Interpretative Phenomenological Study.Nursing reports (Pavia, Italy) · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
10 authors at 5 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic has imposed great pressure on healthcare facilities, exposing healthcare professionals to various challenges that may result in the onset of moral distress, a condition of psychological distress caused by the inability to act as it would be most morally appropriate. The purpose of this research was to investigate the experience lived by nurses who worked in an intensive care unit during the COVID-19 pandemic.
methodsThis is a phenomenological study using interpretative phenomenological analysis. Sixteen nurses who worked in the COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit of Northern Italian Hospitals from January to April 2022 were selected through purposive sampling. Data on experiences, thoughts, and symptoms were collected through semi-structured interviews with in-person and remote modalities.
resultsFive themes and fourteen subthemes emerged from the study. The themes are: (1) pride, isolation, and fear; (2) teamwork and organisation; (3) moral/ethical aspect; (4) true heroes; and (5) dignity.
conclusionsThis study highlights the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on intensive care unit nurses. It has emerged that the risk of moral distress is high among healthcare workers in the front line of the fight against the virus. This condition should be avoided and managed through early psychological interventions, sharing of experiences, and a good organization that supports decision-making and professional well-being.
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