Predisposing Factors and Strategies to Address Moral Distress in Dialysis Nurses: A Literature Review

Introduction. Moral Distress in the nursing profession represents an increasingly important issue. Patients undergoing dialysis treatment have a long and complex clinical path and the nurse is required to express clinical decisions balancing the obligations of care not only towards patients and family members, but also towards himself and the organization. It therefore happens that the nurse finds himself in situations in which he is not able to translate his moral beliefs into ethically concrete actions causing a sense of anguish and frustration. Objective. To identify and describe the predisposing factors and strategies to address the phenomenon of Moral Distress in nurses who work in dialysis. Method. A literature review was conducted from 01/01/2024 to 09/30/2024 by consulting four databases: PubMed, Embase, CINAHL and Scopus. The study included primary experimental, quasi-experimental, observational, qualitative studies and secondary studies such as reviews, meta-analyses and scoping reviews, which described the phenomenon of Moral distress, its predisposing factors and the related strategies to deal with it in the context of dialysis. Results. The studies confirmed that the phenomenon of Moral Distress is very prevalent in the context of dialysis. The predisposing factors are related to: direct assistance with the dialysis patient (a), the work and organizational context (b) hierarchical barriers and impaired communication between nurses and the ward team (c). The strategies used suggest promoting the well-being of dialysis nursing staff; strategies such as: open communication with patients and relatives; opening of services that provide support on ethical reasoning and stress management; implementation of training activities regarding palliative care and end-of-life management. Discussion. Moral distress causes nursing staff working in dialysis to feel helpless, which can evolve into emotional exhaustion with physical and psychological repercussions that can affect the quality of care provided and increase abandonment of the profession. Conclusions. This literature review has identified the factors that determine the onset of Moral distress in the context of dialysis with the aim of outlining strategies to limit this phenomenon. In light of the results achieved, it becomes essential to implement research within nephrological contexts to prevent and contain the problem with the aim of ensuring high-quality care and at the same time the well-being of the professional.