Analysis of the current situation of ICU nurses' moral disengagement and influencing factors

Abstract Purpose Moral disengagement can lead to anti-social behaviour by employees in business. In the healthcare field, moral disengagement can lead nurses to make unethical decisions and behaviours that can harm patient well-being. Therefore, this paper will examine the factors influencing moral disengagement among ICU nurses with the aim of contributing to the reduction of the level of moral disengagement among nurses. Methods Between January 2024 and January 2025, ICU nurses from second-level and above general hospitals in Henan and Hubei, China, were selected as survey respondents. The questionnaire survey was conducted using a general information questionnaire, a moral disengagement scale, a moral resilience scale, and a moral disengagement energy scale, and multiple linear stepwise regression was used to analyze the influencing factors of ICU nurses' moral disengagement. Results 305 ICU nurses scored (91.40 ± 34.37) on the Moral Disengagement Scale. The multiple linear stepwise regression analysis results showed that years of working experience, whether or not they had received ethics training(16.219 p < 0.001), ears of experience (-7.673, p = 0.018), moral resilience(-18.452,p < 0.001), and moral distress (5.523,p < 0.001) were the influencing factors of moral disengagement among ICU nurses (p < 0.05). The adjusted R2 = 0.499,which explains 49.9% of the total variation, suggests that the model explains the influences of moral disengagement well. Conclusion The moral disengagement of ICU nurses is moderately high, and individualized interventions can be carried out for high-risk groups to reduce this level and improve ethical decision-making to protect patient's rights and interests.