Document Type
Article
Source Publication Title
Nursing Ethics
DOI
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/09697330241230519
Abstract
Background
Encounters of moral distress have long-term consequences on healthcare workers’ physical and mental health, leading to job dissatisfaction, reduced patient care, and high levels of burnout, exhaustion, and intentions to quit. Yet, research on approaches to ameliorate moral distress across the health workforce is limited.Research Objective
The aim of our study was to qualitatively explore multi-professional perspectives of healthcare social workers, chaplains, and patient liaisons on ways to reduce moral distress and heighten well-being at a southern U.S. academic medical center.Participants & Research Context
Purposive sampling and chain-referral methods assisted with recruitment through hospital listservs, staff meetings, and newsletters. Interested participants contacted the principal investigator and all interviews were conducted in-person. Consent was attained prior to interviews. All interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim.Research Design
Directed content analysis was used to deductively organize codes and to develop themes in conjunction with the National Academy of Medicine’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being. Rigor was attained through peer-debriefing, data triangulation methods, and frequent research team meetings.Ethical Considerations
Ethics approval was obtained from the university and medical center institutional review boards.Findings
Themes demonstrate that rather than offering interventions in the aftermath of moral distress, multilevel daily practices ought to be considered that pre-emptively identify and reduce morally distressing encounters through (1) the care team, (2) management and leadership, and (3) the health care industry. Strategies include interdisciplinary decision-making, trusting managerial relationships, and organizational policies and practices that explicitly invest in mental health promotion and diverse leadership opportunities.Conclusion
Moral distress interventions ought to target short-term stress reactions while also addressing the long-term impacts of moral residue. Health systems must financially commit to an ethical workplace culture that explicitly values mental health and well-being.Publication Date
2-5-2024
Language
English
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Fantus, Sophia; Cole, Rebecca; Hawkins, Lataya; and Usset, Timothy J., "Multi-professional perspectives to reduce moral distress: A qualitative investigation" (2024). SAGE Open Access Agreement Publications-Archive. 45.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/utalibraries_sageoapubs/45
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