Table 2.
Comparison of the ethical conflict score between Covid-19 and non-Covid-19 wards.
| Ethical Conflict Scale Covid-19 (ECS-Co19) Items | All Nurses | Non-Covid-19 Wards | Covid-19 Wards | p-Value # | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| N = 548 | N = 273 | N = 275 | ||||||
| 1 | I perceived more ethical conflicts during the Covid-19 crisis than before. | 9 | [4.0–12.0] ç | 8.0 | [4.0–9.0] | 9.0 | [4.0–12.0] | <0.001 |
| 2 | I suffered for not being able to adequately care for patients due to lack of material resources, space or equipment. | 6 | [4.0–12.0] | 4.0 | [2.5–9.0] | 9.0 | [4.0–16.0] | <0.001 |
| 3 | I suffered for not being able to adequately care for patients due to a lack of staff. | 4 | [1.0–9.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–8.5] | 6.0 | [2.0–15.0] | <0.001 |
| 4 | The moral obligation to care for patients outweighed the need to ensure my personal safety. | 6 | [3.0–12.0] | 4.0 | [2.0–9.0] | 8.0 | [4.0–12.0] | <0.001 |
| 5 | During the current health crisis, respect for patient autonomy has been undermined. | 6 | [2.0–9.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | 6.0 | [4.0–10.0] | <0.001 |
| 6 | I suffered for the fact that End-of-Life care for patients could not be guaranteed as before. | 6 | [2.0–16.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | 10.0 | [4.0–16.0] | <0.001 |
| 7 | I suffered for seeing patients dying alone. | 9 | [4.0–16.0] | 5.0 | [1.0–12.0] | 15.0 | [8.0–20.0] | <0.001 |
| 8 | I provided care and/or treatment that I did not consider necessary. | 2 | [1.0–5.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–4.0] | 3.0 | [1.0–6.0] | 0.012 |
| 9 | Directives were agreed to limit life support treatment in patients in certain situations. | 4 | [1.0–8.0] | 2.0 | [1.0–4.0] | 6.0 | [2.0–12.0] | <0.001 |
| 10 | I suffered for communicating bad news to family members by telephone and/or video calls. | 4 | [1.0–6.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | 0.003 |
| 11 | I suffered for having to care for a patient for whom I felt I did not have the right skills. | 4 | [1.0–6.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–4.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | <0.001 |
| 12 | I suffered for working with colleagues who I felt did not have the right skills. | 4 | [1.0–6.0] | 3.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | <0.001 |
| 13 | I suffered for having to prioritise between who was more likely to benefit from treatment and who was less likely to. | 3 | [1.0–6.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–4.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–9.0] | <0.001 |
| 14 | I suffered because I was not always able to provide treatments to alleviate pain and suffering when needed. | 4 | [1.0–8.0] | 3.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 5.0 | [1.0–9.0] | <0.001 |
| 15 | I suffered because I could see that some negative outcomes for the patient depended on the quality of nursing care. | 4 | [1.0–5.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 4.0 | [1.0–6.0] | 0.005 |
| 16 | I suffered for having to choose patients who got life-saving treatment and those who did not. | 1 | [1.0–5.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 2.0 | [1.0–8.0] | 0.002 |
| 17 | I suffered for having to care for colleagues who had contracted Covid-19. | 1 | [1.0–4.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–4.0] | 1.0 | [1.0–5.0] | 0.988 |
| Total score | 111.5 | [76.0–152.0] | 91.0 | [68.5–125.0] | 133.0 | [91.0–179.0] | <0.001 | |
Covid-19: Coronavirus disease 2019. ç Data are presented as median, 25th and 75th percentiles. # Mann–Whitney U test.