Moral Courage and Its Related Factors in Emergency Medical Technicians during the Covid-19 Pandemic in 2021: A Cross-sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Emergency medical technicians (EMTs) at the forefront of the health system face Covid-19 cases. In such situation, they may have doubts about their abilities or priorities and may not make the right decisions. They need moral courage to survive this global crisis's stress and strengthen their decision-making power.Aim: The present study aimed to investigate the moral courage and its related factors in EMTs during the Covid-19 pandemic.Method: This cross-sectional study was performed in 2021 on 194 EMTs of Zanjan University of Medical Sciences. Sampling was done by the cluster random method. A demographic information questionnaire and standard moral courage questionnaire were used to collect data. Data were analyzed using independent t-test, ANOVA, Pearson correlation coefficient and Logistic regression. P<0.05 was considered statistically significant.Results: The mean total score of moral courage was high in 88.1% of EMTs (433.31± 49.70 out of 510). The mean score of moral courage in the dimensions of moral self-actualization was 228.98±32.46, risk-taking was 159.04±15.68, and the ability to defend the right was 45.28±7.70. There was statistically significant relationship between the mean score of total moral courage and marital status, age, work experience, and number of working hours (p <0.05).Implications for Practice: The findings of this study showed that EMTs had a high level of moral courage, so it is possible to maintain this important ethical virtue through reinforcements, planning, effective training, and organizational support, and consequently increase the quality of pre-hospital care.

Keywords

• covid-19
• emergency medical services
• emergency medical technicians
• moral courage