Nurses are continuously involved with ethical problems in their area of practice and need to possess a satisfactory level of moral sensitivity in order to be able to offer moral care. Additionally, they act as agents for proper management of ethical dilemmas and are therefore required to have high self-esteem. This study aimed to determine the correlation between moral sensitivity and self-esteem in nurses. In this descriptive-correlational research, sample study included 204 nursing personnel working in hospitals affiliated with Iran University of Medical Sciences. Participants were selected by convenience sampling. The data were collected using a demographic form, Lützén's Moral Sensitivity Questionnaire, and Rosenberg's Self-Esteem Questionnaire. Then, the data were analyzed using descriptive and analytical statistics. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject who participated in the research. The mean score for moral sensitivity of the samples was 69.15 ± 5.70, and 20.01 ± 4.76 for their self-esteem. Pearson's correlation coefficient test indicated a meaningful and positive relationship between the two variables under study (r = 0.472 and P = 0.001). There was no correlation between the participants' demographic data and moral sensitivity (P > 0.05), but a significant relationship was found between the participants' level of education and the variable self-esteem (P < 0.05). Since there was a positive and significant relationship between moral sensitivity and self-esteem among the nursing staff, nursing managers should focus on improving the quality of patient care by promoting nurses' moral sensitivity inspired by high self-esteem.
Keywords: Moral sensitivity; Nurse; Nursing ethics; Self-esteem.