Moral distress is common among European healthcare professionals working in motor neuron disease
Original source
Moral distress in healthcare professionals working with motor neuron disease. (opens in a new tab)Compass summarised this from the study's abstract.
Study details
- Studied in
- Human
A survey of 230 healthcare professionals across 17 European countries found that 67% said moral distress reflected their experience of working with motor neuron disease (MND). Greater moral distress was associated with lower professional quality of life and with intentions to leave or change jobs. Service and organisational barriers were the most common and distressing obstacles to providing effective MND care.
Why this matters
The findings suggest that pressures within MND services may affect clinicians’ wellbeing and workforce retention. They could help guide research into interventions for healthcare professionals, but this study does not show that addressing moral distress will improve care or prevent staff from leaving.
Limitations and context
This was a cross-sectional online survey, so it shows associations rather than cause and effect. The results were based on 230 respondents and may not represent all healthcare professionals working in MND. The study identified potential contributors to moral distress, but did not test interventions to address them.