Relationships Among Palliative Care, Ethical Climate, Empowerment, and Moral Distress in Intensive Care Unit Nurses.

Background: Intensive care unit nurses experience moral distress when they feel unable to deliver ethically appropriate care to patients. Moral distress is associated with nurse burnout and patient care avoidance.

Objectives: To evaluate relationships among moral distress, empowerment, ethical climate, and access to palliative care in the intensive care unit.