Association of Moral Distress with Anxiety, Depression, and an Intention to Leave among Nurses Working in Intensive Care Units during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: Wide geographical variations in depression and anxiety rates related to the ethical climate have been reported during the COVID-19 pandemic in intensive care units (ICUs). The objective was to investigate whether moral distress is associated and has predictive values for depression, anxiety, and intention to resign. Methods: 79 consenting ICU nurses completed MMD-HP and PHQ-4 scales in this cross-sectional study between October 2020–February 2021, after ethical approval. The association between MMD-HP and PHQ-4, and the predictive value of MMD-HP for anxiety, depression, and an intention to leave were analyzed (linear regression and receiver operating characteristics curve analysis). Results: From MMD-HP items, system related factors had highest scores (Kruskal–Wallis test, p < 0.0001). MMD-HP and PHQ-4 were weakly correlated (r = 0.41 [0.21–0.58]). MMD-HP and its system-related factors discriminate between nurses with and without depression or anxiety, while system-related factors differentiate those intending to resign (p < 0.05). The MMD-HP score had 50 [37.54–62.46] sensitivity with 80.95 [60–92.33] specificity to predict the intention to leave, and 76.12 [64.67–84.73] sensitivity with 58.33 [31.95–80.67] specificity to detect anxiety or depression symptoms. Conclusions: During the COVID-19 pandemic, system-associated factors seem to be the most important root factors inducing moral distress. Moral distress is associated with negative psychological outcomes.