The concept of moral distress in the neonatal intensive care unit: a concept analysis using Rogers' evolutionary method

Advances in technology in recent decades have affected health care and led to moral distress. Moral distress is a concept that remains ambiguous in neonatal intensive care nursing. Therefore, the current research was conducted with the aim of analyzing moral distress in the neonatal intensive care unit, using Rogers' evolutionary approach.

This review study was done with the evolutionary approach of Rogers concept analysis. In the literature review stage, ScienceDirect, Google Scholar, PubMed, ProQuest, Magiran, medex Iran, SID, Scopus databases were searched using the keywords of the concept of moral distress, neonatal special care, without a time limit until August 2022. After removing the articles that did not meet the inclusion criteria, the full text of all the articles that met the inclusion criteria was prepared and analyzed.

In this study, the characteristics of this concept were determined under the title of emotional and psychological pain and discomfort, real or mental limitations, moral mistakes or failure to make moral decisions. Antecedents of this concept in dimensions; There are individual factors, social-environmental factors, cultural factors, organizational factors and institutional policies, and its consequences were identified in two physical and psychological dimensions.

The findings of this study, by clarifying the concept of moral distress in the neonatal intensive care unit, can help in the development of theories and even the construction of needed tools..