Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify the factors that affect the ethical sensitivities of nurses in long-term care hospitals. Methods: This study is a descriptive research study for which data were collected from August 18, 2017, to September 8, 2017. The subjects of this study were 144 nurses working in long-term care hospitals with more than 100 beds in B-city. The data were collected using the Ethical Sensitivity Scale for Clinical Nurses, Ethics Position Questionnaire, Hospital Climate Survey, and Ethical Leadership Scale. Data were analyzed by the SPSS WIN 23.0 program using descriptive statistics, t-test, ANOVA, Pearson''s correlation, and multiple regression. Result: The average ethical sensitivity of the subjects studied was 145.18±12.92; the ethical orientation average was 74.80±9.20; the hospital ethics climate average was 96.98±13.00 points; and the ethical leadership average was 39.10±6.40 points. Educational level (β=0.12 p=.045), idealism (β=0.43, p<.001) among the sub-factors of ethical orientation and relationship with patients (β=0.25, p=.024), and relationship with the physician (β=-0.29, p=.013) among the sub-factors of the hospital ethics climate were the factors affecting the subject''s ethical sensitivity, and overall explanatory power was 53.5%. Conclusion: As a result of this study, the ethical sensitivity of hospital nurses was found to be influenced by educational level and ethical orientation (idealism) among personal factors, and hospital ethics climate (relationship with patients, relationship with physicians) among organizational factors. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the level of education, ethical orientation, and the hospital ethics climate in the development of education programs to promote ethical sensitivity among nurses.

Keywords: ethical sensitivity, ethical orientation, ethical climate, ethical leadership, nurses.