Table 4.

The relationship between the demographic variables, moral distress, ethical climate, and FATCOD among the NICU nurses

Variable	Group	Mean ± SD of moral distress	Statistic test, P- value	Mean ± SD of ethical climate	Statistic test, P value	Mean ± SD of FATCOD	Statistic test, p value
Marital status	Single	46.48 ± 17.64	T = − 1.01 P = 0.311	97.07 ± 16.98	T = 1.64 P = 0.104	90.41 ± 8.66	T = 0.42 P = 0.675
	Married	50.26 ± 16.97		90.88 ± 17.51		89.58 ± 9.23
Education level	Bachelor’s degree	48.07 ± 16.34	T=- 2.86 P = 0.005	91.92 ± 18.05	T = − 0.56 P = 0.575	89.57 ± 9.30	T = − 0.66 P = 0.507
	Master’s degree	62.50 ± 19.48		92.92 ± 11.45		91.41 ± 6.71
Employment	Hired	50.85 ± 17.32	T = 1.40 P = 0.245	104.43 ± 15.48	F = 6.44 P < 0.001	88.46 ± 9.58	F = 1.27 P = 0.286
	Contract recruiter*	53.95 ± 18.14		87.77 ± 14.40		89.77 ± 7.02
Position	Nurse	49.04 ± 17.31	T = − 0.70 P = 0.487	92.37 ± 17.63	T = 0.67 P = 0.494	89.76 ± 9.18	T = 0.08 P = 0.936
	Head nurse	53.95 ± 18.14		85.33 ± 12.34		89.33 ± 3.79
Type of shift	Unfixed	49.04 ± 17.14	T = − 1.21 P = 0.230	92.47 ± 17.39	T = 0.74 P = 0.458	89.86 ± 9.23	T = 0.62 P = 0.536
	Fixed	57.67 ± 15.64		87.00 ± 21.09		87.50 ± 5.31
Income	< 5 million Tomans	42.61 ± 12.12	T = − 1.53 P = 0.129	105.92 ± 18.93	T = 3.08 P = 0.003	88.77 ± 8.80	T = − 0.41 P = 0.682
	> 5 million Tomans	50.23 ± 17.47		90.63 ± 13.73		89.87 ± 9.15
Participation in EOLcare courses	Yes	51.84 ± 18.66	T = 1.15 P = 0.253	96.57 ± 18.54	T = 2.07 P = 0.040	90.81 ± 6.18	T = 0.96 P = 0.338
	No	48.17 ± 16.19		89.87 ± 16.59		89.18 ± 10.30
Experience of caring for a dying neonate	Yes	49.63 ± 17.29	T = 0.39 P = 0.701	91.74 ± 17.78	T = 1.74 P = 0.335	89.84 ± 17.29	T = 0.36 P = 0.722
	No	47.54 ± 15.78		97.09 ± 14.29		88.81 ± 15.78

* A contract RN is someone who completes all the duties and responsibilities of a nurse but is contracted for a temporary amount of time