Effective interventions for improvement of moral sensitivity among nurses: A systematic review

This study was conducted to assess the characteristics and effectiveness of interventions for the improvement of moral sensitivity among nurses. A systematic search was conducted on international databases including PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus, as well as Persian databases including Magiran, Iranmedex, and Scientific Information Database using keywords including moral sensitivity, ethical sensitivity, nurses, and registered nurses from the inception to December 18, 2021. Experimental studies published in Persian and English focusing on effective interventions for the improvement of moral sensitivity among nurses were included. The standard of the studies that qualified for inclusion was assessed using the Joanna Briggs Institute critical assessment criteria. A total of 520 nurses were enrolled in eight studies. Of the nurses, 78.37% were female and 55% were in the intervention group. The mean age of participants was 34.74 (SD=5.65) years. Mean study duration, intervention, and follow-up were 10.38, 5.59, and 7.20 weeks, respectively. Seven educational interventions including nursing ethics workshop (two studies), nursing ethics workshop using narration and lecture , Moral sensitivity workshop , ethical motivational educational program”, virtual narrative ethics workshop , and empowerment educational program , improved moral sensitivity in nurses. However, the nursing ethics workshop using seminar was not effective in the management of moral sensitivity in nurses. The evidence for the positive effects of educational interventions on nurses moral sensitivity was sparse but encouraging. However, there is a need for further studies to confirm the effectiveness of these interventions on nurses moral sensitivity.