Navigating Moral Distress: Nurse Leaders' Experiences in Facilitating Ethical Decision-Making
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Keywords

Moral distress
Nurse leadership
Ethical decision-making
Moral resilience
Healthcare Ethics

How to Cite

1.
Kannan LS, Abd RK, Kamalasanan A, Ramzi OI, Abdalla NOS, Rohini AM. Navigating Moral Distress: Nurse Leaders’ Experiences in Facilitating Ethical Decision-Making. Online Braz J Nurs [Internet]. 2025 Dec. 27 [cited 2026 May 31];24(Suppl2):e20256912. Available from: https://objnursing.uff.br/nursing/article/view/6912

Abstract

Objective: The study examines the relationship between moral distress and nurse leadership by identifying nurse leaders’ challenges in making ethical decisions. By employing empirically rotted theoretical frameworks and available literature, the research intends to explore how nurse leaders, positioned between frontline staff and organizational administration, experience moral distress and how this distress impacts their ethical decision-making processes. Methods: The paper presents a conceptual model that outlines leadership responsibility for the moral resilience of nursing practice. Consideration is given to individuals' moral distress, staff support in ethical dilemmas, creating an ethical practice environment, and developing leadership for a morally resilient domain (Miller, 2024). Results: Emphasize the ethical concerns within leadership roles, the structured ethical discourse, moral agency support, and resilience-building approaches to strengthen ethical decision-making in healthcare settings. Conclusion: Nursing leadership moral distress exceeds individual patient care moral dilemmas, including system-level ethical concerns affecting nurses and institutional policy. A multifaceted approach that includes strong ethical conversation, support for moral agency, and resilience practice is essential to reduce distress and promote ethical decision-making

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