Armed Conflict and Ethics in Care: Experiences of Military Nurses

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.515742618025

• Palavras-chave: Ethical dilemmas, Military nursing, Delivery of Health Care, Armed Conflicts.

• Keywords: Ethical dilemmas, Military nursing, Delivery of Health Care, Armed Conflicts.

• Abstract:

  Objective: To analyze and synthesize the available scientific evidence on the ethical dilemmas experienced by military nurses when providing care in armed conflict contexts.
  Methodology: Integrative literature review, in the scientific databases Pubmed, MEDLINE, and CINAHL (March-June 2025), with the search equation (“military nurse” OR “military nursing”) AND (“ethical dilemma” OR “ethical issue” OR “moral distress” OR “moral injury”) AND (“patient care” OR “healthcare”), including articles published between 2015 and 2025, which resulted in the analysis of three articles.    
  Results: The articles analyzed highlighted ethical dilemmas related to the triage and allocation of scarce resources, the provision of care to enemy combatants and prisoners of war, respect for cultural and religious differences, and the tension between military duties and nursing principles. These situations were associated with moral distress, compassion fatigue, burnout, and post-traumatic stress disorder, affecting the mental health and professional practice of military nurses. 
  Conclusion: The findings highlight the complexity of the ethical dilemmas experienced by military nurses and reinforce the need for specific ethical training, psychological support, and decision support protocols. It is urgent to expand research to other cultural and geopolitical contexts.