2024 Volume 44 Pages 796-806
Purpose: The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between moral distress and turnover intentions, as well as the mediating effect of work engagement (WE) among nurses working in facilities for patients with severe motor and intellectual disabilities (SMID).
Methods: A Web-based questionnaire was administered to nurses working with 58 facilities, asking about personal characteristics, turnover intentions, moral distress, and WE. The analysis consisted of descriptive statistics, correlation analysis of each variable, and structural equation modeling (SEM).
Results: Analysis included 144 datasets. Correlation analysis revealed that turnover intention was significantly positively related to Moral Distress and significantly negatively related to WE. In the SEM analysis, as hypothesized, Moral Distress increased the turnover intentions of nurses caring for patients with SMID, and WE mediated and buffered this association.
Conclusion: In addition to approaches to reduce Moral Distress, it is important to create an organization that enhances WE to improve the retention of nurses who care for patients with SMID.
