Aim: Moral courage among healthcare workers has been extensively studied. However, few studies have been conducted on oncology specialist nurses, who frequently encounter complex moral situations. This study aimed to describe the current situation regarding moral courage and explored its influence on oncology specialist nurses in China.
Design: This was an exploratory, descriptive study.
Methods: A convenience sample of 390 nurses was conducted from 15 hospitals in Sichuan Province, China, between March and May 2023. Participants were assessed using the Moral Distress Scale-Revised, Nurses' Moral Courage Scale and the Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire.
Results: The results demonstrated that moral courage was negatively associated with moral distress, and positively associated with moral sensitivity. Having a master's degree or above, an intermediate title or senior title, medical ethics training, moral distress or moral sensitivity contributed to explaining 54.1% of the variance in moral courage.
Conclusions: Moral courage was associated with several factors. Developing clinical intervention strategies and effective teaching methods will be critical for improving moral courage. No Patient or Public Contribution.
Keywords: cross-sectional study; influencing factors; moral courage; moral distress; moral sensitivity; oncology specialist nurses.
© 2024 The Authors. Nursing Open published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.