The Influence of Moral Distress, Empowerment and Nursing Practice Environment on Nurses’ Person-centered Care in Long-term Care Hospitals: A Cross-Sectional Study

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify the influence of moral distress, empowerment, and nursing practice environment on nurses’ person-centered care in long-term care hospitals.Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using self-report questionnaires. Participants included 128 nurses working in eight long-term care hospitals. Data were collected from July 24 to August 31, 2018 and analyzed using the independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Pearson correlation, and multiple linear regression using the SPSS/WIN 26.0 program.Results: Person-centered care showed significantly negative correlations with moral distress (r=-.18, p=.048) and positive correlations with empowerment (r=.52, p<.001) and nursing practice environment (r=.46, p<.001). Person-centered care was significantly affected by empowerment (β=.42, p<.001) and nursing practice environment (β=.26, p=.002), and the explanatory power of these variables was 34% (F=22.29, p<.001).Conclusion: Research results suggest it is necessary to develop a program to improve the empowerment of nurses for person-centered care and nursing practice environment in long-term care hospitals.