Introduction: It is essential to analyze stresses and ethical problems regarding the severe ethical dilemmas caused by
COVID-19 and relevant care. In this case, a review approach provides an outstanding insight into this topic. The extant research aimed at reviewing the common and emerged ethical challenges and dilemmas during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Materials and Methods: An integrative review was done through the database (e.g., Google Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus) based on the Mesh and keywords mentioned in associated articles. This study was conducted by using logical operators (AND, NOT, OR) among the researches published since 30 January 2020. In the next step, results were extracted from the reviewed eligible texts and papers.
Results: The most common ethical dilemmas included lack of patient-centered and empathic care, discrimination, lack of attention to patient autonomy and family-centered care, irresponsibility, as well as conflicts between professional commitment and personal responsibilities. All of the challenges mentioned above may cause ethical harm, mental-emotional consequences, moral stress, lack of psychological adjustment, and disrespect. Therefore, nurses can promote their skills, innovation, and creativity while coping with such challenges. Self-care strategies, structural supports, and professional interventions would mitigate the negative implications while increasing positive ones.
Conclusion: Nurses may face many problems in making ethical decisions while caring for patients who suffer from
COVID-19. Therefore, some effective coping strategies must be designed to encounter these challenges and support nurses during the crisis.