Dataset Information

Mental burden and moral distress among oncologists and oncology nurses in Germany during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

There is evidence for mental burden and moral distress among healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, there is scarcity of analyses regarding possible correlations of mental burden and moral distress in this context. This study provides data to quantify mental burden and possible associations with moral distress among physicians and nurses working in oncology in Germany.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with physicians and nurses working in oncology in Germany between March and July 2021. Next to sociodemographic characteristics and working conditions, mental burden and moral distress were assessed using standardized instruments. Binary multivariate logistic regression using the enter method was performed in order to explore the relationship between mental burden and moral distress.

Results

121 physicians and 125 nurses were included in the study. Prevalence of clinically relevant depressive symptoms, anxiety, somatic symptoms, burnout symptoms and moral distress was 19.2, 14.5, 12.7, 46.0 and 34.7% in physicians and 41.4, 24.0, 46.8, 46.6 and 60.0% in nurses respectively. Mental burden was significantly associated with moral distress, being female/diverse, younger age < 40 and increase in workload. Nurses who felt sufficiently protected from COVID-19 reported significantly less moral distress.

Conclusion

To improve pandemic resilience, there is a need to ensure safe working environment including psychosocial support. Further evidence on risk and protective factors for moral distress is needed to be able to develop and implement strategies to protect healthcare workers within and beyond the pandemic.

SUBMITTER: Sommerlatte S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9878480 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mental burden and moral distress among oncologists and oncology nurses in Germany during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

Sommerlatte Sabine S Lugnier Celine C Schoffer Olaf O Jahn Patrick P Kraeft Anna-Lena AL Kourti Eleni E Michl Patrick P Reinacher-Schick Anke A Schmitt Jochen J Birkner Thomas T Schildmann Jan J Herpertz Stephan S

Journal of cancer research and clinical oncology 20230126 9

<h4>Purpose</h4>There is evidence for mental burden and moral distress among healthcare workers during the pandemic. However, there is scarcity of analyses regarding possible correlations of mental burden and moral distress in this context. This study provides data to quantify mental burden and possible associations with moral distress among physicians and nurses working in oncology in Germany.<h4>Methods</h4>We conducted a cross-sectional online survey with physicians and nurses working in onco ...[more]

PMID: 36700979

Similar Datasets

Project description:Moral distress has been identified as an occupational hazard for clinicians caring for vulnerable populations. The aim of this systematic review was (i) to summarize the literature reporting on prevalence of, and factors related to, moral distress among nurses within acute mental health settings, and (ii) to examine the efficacy of interventions designed to address moral distress among nurses within this clinical setting. A comprehensive literature search was conducted in October 2022 utilizing Nursing & Allied Health, Embase, CINAHL, PsychInfo, and PubMed databases to identify eligible studies published in English from January 2000 to October 2022. Ten studies met inclusion criteria. Four quantitative studies assessed moral distress among nurses in acute mental health settings and examined relationships between moral distress and other psychological and work-related variables. Six qualitative studies explored the phenomenon of moral distress as experienced by nurses working in acute mental health settings. The quantitative studies assessed moral distress using the Moral Distress Scale for Psychiatric Nurses (MDS-P) or the Work-Related Moral Stress Questionnaire. These studies identified relationships between moral distress and emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, cynicism, poorer job satisfaction, less sense of coherence, poorer moral climate, and less experience of moral support. Qualitative studies revealed factors associated with moral distress, including lack of action, poor conduct by colleagues, time pressures, professional, policy and legal implications, aggression, and patient safety. No interventions targeting moral distress among nurses in acute mental health settings were identified. Overall, this review identified that moral distress is prevalent among nurses working in acute mental health settings and is associated with poorer outcomes for nurses, patients, and organizations. Research is urgently needed to develop and test evidence-based interventions to address moral distress among mental health nurses and to evaluate individual and system-level intervention effects on nurses, clinical care, and patient outcomes.

Project description:BackgroundOne of the challenges that nurses often face in ethical decision-making situations is moral distress. Moral distress is caused by the conflict between professional and individual values in decision-making situations. Despite its importance, there is no reliable scale in Persian to measure it. Therefore, this study was conducted to validate the moral distress scale in mental health nurses in Iranian culture and Persian language.MethodsThis study was conducted in two parts: Translation and cross-cultural adaptation and psychometric analysis. The translation and cross-cultural adaptation process was conducted based on the Polit approach. Next, face validity (qualitative), content validity (quantitative and qualitative), and construct validity were examined. This part of the study was a cross-sectional study. In this step, a demographic questionnaire and the Moral Distress Scale were sent to 500 nurses working in selected educational and medical centers in Iran via online questionnaires. Then, the construct validity of the "Moral Distress Scale" was confirmed by confirmatory factor analysis and the reliability of the instrument was examined by studying the internal consistency with Cronbach's alpha and the internal correlation of the AIC.ResultsThe confirmatory factor analysis showed an acceptable ratio of the expressions in 15 items in three factors: Acquiescence to patients' rights violations (6 items), Unethical conduct by caregivers (5 items), and low staffing (4 items) in the scale. The internal consistency of the instrument with Cronbach's alpha was higher than 7.0.ConclusionThe Persian version of moral distress with 15 items of the three factors had validity and reliability. According to the present findings, this scale can be used to study moral distress among nurses working in psychiatric wards. Moral distress leads to burnout, increases risks to patient safety and reduces quality of care. Nurses need to be able to assess and manage moral distress. Therefore, considering the side effects, it is necessary to have a reliable and valid scale that can be studied. Considering that culture has an impact on nurses' moral distress, it is suggested that this instrument be studied in and tested in other languages and cultures.

Project description:AimThe present study is an attempt to investigate the relationship between Corley's model variables in mental health nurses.BackgroundBased on Corley's model, burnout and moral distress in nurses are, in retrospect, the consequences of the interplay of organizational and individual factors such as perceived organizational justice, moral sensitivity, and moral courage. The relationship between two variables or three variables of Corley's moral distress model has been investigated, but the test of Corley's moral distress model with more variables has not been done. Therefore, this research was proposed with the aim of investigating the relationship between the variables of moral courage and moral sensitivity (as characteristics of nurses), perceived organizational justice (as an antecedent), moral distress, and job burnout (as consequences of moral distress).MethodsThe study was conducted as a descriptive correlational study involving 500 nurses working in the mental health wards of hospitals. Data collection was conducted using perceived organizational justice scale, moral sensitivity scale, moral courage scale, moral distress scale, and burnout inventory.ResultsThe results showed a significant relationship between perceived organizational justice, moral sensitivity, moral courage, and moral distress (< 0.05). Moreover, perceived organizational justice and moral distress had an inverse relationship. Moral sensitivity and moral courage had a direct relationship with moral distress (< 0.05). Furthermore, the results showed inadequate model fitness.ConclusionsThis study adds to the existing knowledge about the experiences of mental health nurses and their interactions with both organizational and individual factors. It highlights that the connections between perceived organizational justice, moral sensitivity, moral courage, moral distress, and burnout are intricate and multifaceted. As we deepen our understanding of these relationships, it opens the door for the development of interventions and strategies to enhance nurses' well-being and the quality of care they deliver in mental health settings. Moreover, future research and ongoing refinement and expansion of Corley's model will be crucial in addressing the complex challenges within the healthcare sector.

Project description:ObjectiveThis integrative review aimed to identify the common characteristics of moral distress in nursing and distinguish it from other types of distress by examining nurses' perspectives in the literature. These insights will help update existing tools and create new ones to capture moral distress better, guiding the development and implementation of strategies to support nurses in addressing this challenge.MethodsWhittemore and Knafl's integrative review method was employed to guide a systematic search for literature in three databases (EBSCO Medline, CINAHL, and PubMed). Additionally, two journals, Bioethics and Nursing Ethics, were manually searched to reduce search bias. The included studies were primary resources published in English between 2018 and 2023, utilizing quantitative, qualitative, or mixed methods to examine moral distress's characteristics, components, and definitions. All of identified studies were screened, extracted, and analyzed independently by two researchers.ResultsNineteen studies were included. The results were grouped into five themes shaping the main characteristics of moral distress: 1) experiencing a moral situation, with five ethically conflicted situations identified, including treatment plans, professional and personal moral values, team dynamics, complex contexts, clinical practices, and patient-centered care; 2) making a moral judgment, where nurses experience moral distress when they cannot act consistently with their values, ethical principles, and moral duties; 3) the presence of constraints, categorized at three levels: individual factors related to the nurse, patient, and patient's family; team factors related to the team or unit involved; and system factors, including institutional and policy elements; 4) moral wrongdoing, which occurs when nurses are unable to perform the right moral action; and 5) moral suffering, with studies showing that moral distress impacts physical, emotional, and psychological well-being.ConclusionThe findings enhance the understanding of moral distress characteristics among nursing staff, highlighting the concept of the crescendo effect, which underscores the cumulative and escalating nature of unresolved moral distress, emphasizing the need to address moral conflicts proactively to prevent the erosion of moral integrity and professional satisfaction.

Project description:BackgroundCritical Care Providers (CCPs) experience situations that challenge their ethics and professional standards and may entail moral distress (MD).AimTo analyze MD perceived by CCPs in intensive care units (ICUs) or emergency departments (EDs) and further clarify whether CCPs who rely on spiritual resources differ in their perception of MD from those who do not utilize these resources.MethodsA cross-sectional anonymous survey was administered using a modified version of the German language version of the Moral Distress Scale (MDS) with 2 × 12 items to assess the frequency and the respective perceived burden of specific situations by applying a 5-point Likert scale. Explorative factor analysis was performed and the sub-constructs of the respective items regarding MD frequency and burden were identified. Job burden and professional satisfaction were measured using visual analogue scales (VAS) and a four-point Likert scale, respectively. The 15-item SpREUK questionnaire was applied to measure spiritual attitudes and behaviours and to differentiate between religious and spiritual persons. Data from 385 German-speaking CCPs were included (55% physicians, 45% nurses).ResultsConflict situations are similar for physicians and nurses although they are perceived as more burdensome by nurses. Among physicians, the MDS factor Looking away/Resignation scores highest for assistant physician residents, whereas distress caused by looking away is more often perceived by specialist physicians without a managerial position. Work satisfaction is inversely associated with MD and emotional exhaustion is positively associated with it. Participants' spirituality is marginally associated with MD. The best predictors of both MD frequency and burden are emotional exhaustion with further influences of work satisfaction, being a nurse, and being a non-believer on the frequency of MD perception. Being a nurse, participants' experience in ICU/ED, and being of the male gender are further predictors of MD burden.ConclusionsMD is experienced differently by different groups of CCPs depending on their place in the hierarchy of responsibility. As MD perception is best predicted by emotional exhaustion, these situations should be avoided. Although some CCPs may rely on spiritual resources, all need individual and team support to cope with MD.

Dataset Information

Mental burden and moral distress among oncologists and oncology nurses in Germany during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusion

Publications

Mental burden and moral distress among oncologists and oncology nurses in Germany during the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: a cross-sectional survey.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets