Relationship Between Clinical Decision-Making and Moral Distress in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Nurses: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Correlational Descriptive Study.

Background: In the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), nurses care for premature and critically ill neonates, interact with parents, and make clinical decisions regarding the treatment of neonates in life-threatening conditions. The challenges of managing unstable conditions and resuscitation decisions can cause moral distress in nurses.

Purpose: This study aims to determine the relationship between clinical decision-making and moral distress in NICU nurses.

Methods: This cross-sectional, multicenter, descriptive correlational study involved 190 nurses working in 7 NICUs across hospitals in Khorramabad and Semnan in 2023. Data were collected using demographic questionnaires, the Clinical Decision-Making Laurie Scale (2001), and the Moral Distress Scale-Revised (MDS-R).

Results: All nurses in these NICUs were female. No significant correlation was found between clinical decision-making and moral distress (r = -0.03, P = .684). The moral distress score was low. In decision-making, 57.9% of nurses exhibited intuitive analysis (understanding without a rationale). Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that age, education level, and job position were significantly related to clinical decision-making; and being married and having children were inversely correlated with moral distress.

Implications for practice: 20% of nurses exhibited interpretive intuitive clinical decision-making, which involves care complexities, cognitive understanding, and task-based decisions. Nursing managers should focus on refining these decision-making strategies for NICU nurses.

Implications for research: Given the importance of clinical decision-making in the NICU, future research should use quantitative and qualitative methods to explore the decision-making processes and moral distress in NICU nurses.