Moral distress occurs when professionals cannot carry out what they believe to be ethically appropriate actions. This review describes the publication trend on moral distress and explores its relationships with other constructs. A bibliometric analysis revealed that since 1984, 239 articles were published, with an increase after 2011. Most of them (71%) focused on nursing. Of the 239 articles, 17 empirical studies were systematically analyzed. Moral distress correlated with organizational environment (poor ethical climate and collaboration), professional attitudes (low work satisfaction and engagement), and psychological characteristics (low psychological empowerment and autonomy). Findings revealed that moral distress negatively affects clinicians' wellbeing and job retention. Further studies should investigate protective psychological factors to develop preventive interventions.

When healthcare professionals cannot do the right thing : a systematic review of moral distress and its correlates / G. Lamiani, L. Borghi, P. Argentero. - In: JOURNAL OF HEALTH PSYCHOLOGY. - ISSN 1359-1053. - 22:1(2017 Jan), pp. 51-67. [10.1177/1359105315595120]

When healthcare professionals cannot do the right thing : a systematic review of moral distress and its correlates

G. Lamiani
Primo
;
L. Borghi
Secondo
;
2017

Abstract

Moral distress occurs when professionals cannot carry out what they believe to be ethically appropriate actions. This review describes the publication trend on moral distress and explores its relationships with other constructs. A bibliometric analysis revealed that since 1984, 239 articles were published, with an increase after 2011. Most of them (71%) focused on nursing. Of the 239 articles, 17 empirical studies were systematically analyzed. Moral distress correlated with organizational environment (poor ethical climate and collaboration), professional attitudes (low work satisfaction and engagement), and psychological characteristics (low psychological empowerment and autonomy). Findings revealed that moral distress negatively affects clinicians' wellbeing and job retention. Further studies should investigate protective psychological factors to develop preventive interventions.
burnout; health psychology; healthcare system; moral distress; psychological distress; systematic review
Settore M-PSI/08 - Psicologia Clinica
gen-2017
27-lug-2015
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/2434/313098
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