Observational studyJournal of advanced nursing2026
Ethical Sensitivity as Mediator Between Conflict and Decision-Making: A Cross-Sectional Study of ICU Nurses.
Observational study in Journal of advanced nursing, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed.
- Ethical Sensitivity as Mediator Between Conflict and Decision-Making: A Cross-Sectional Study of ICU Nurses.Journal of advanced nursing · 2026Observational
- Moral leadership in neonatal nursing: a qualitative narrative study of ethical decision-making in NICUs.BMC nursing · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
aimsTo examine the relationship between ethical conflicts and ethical decision-making ability, ethical sensitivity and demographic factors as mediator/moderator roles.
designA cross-sectional survey was conducted from June to December 2024.
methodsThis study involved 503 intensive care unit nurses from eight tertiary hospitals across Zhejiang, Guangdong and Guangxi provinces. Participants completed validated instruments including the Ethical Conflict Nursing Questionnaire-Critical Care Version, the Chinese Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire-Revised version and the Chinese Version of Judgement About Nursing Decision. SPSS 27.0 was used for descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis, while PROCESS macro handled mediation and moderation analysis.
resultsThe relationship between ethical conflict and decision-making ability was significantly mediated by both moral responsibility/strength and burden, with the latter demonstrating a stronger indirect effect. Furthermore, exploratory moderated mediation analysis showed that this mediation model varied significantly across different levels of work experience and types of intensive care unit. Given the exploratory nature of these findings, they require verification in future confirmatory studies.
conclusionsThe association between ethical conflict and decision-making ability was mediated by ethical sensitivity. This pathway was moderated by work environment and qualifications, indicating the need for tailored interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR THE PROFESSION AND/OR PATIENT CARE: Developing nurses' ethical sensitivity is a key strategy for managers aiming to improve ethical decision-making when nurses face ethical conflicts. IMPACT: This study addressed ambiguous findings regarding the relationship between ethical conflict and nurses' decision-making ability. For nurse managers, fostering ethical sensitivity among staff represents a key strategy for mitigating the ethical conflicts that are negatively associated with decision-making ability. REPORTING
methodThe strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology statement (STROBE) was followed. PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: No patient or public contribution.
trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry (ChiCTR): MR-33-24-032956.
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