Impacts of morally distressing experiences on the mental health of Canadian health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

TY - JOUR

T1 - Impacts of morally distressing experiences on the mental health of Canadian health care workers during the COVID-19 pandemic

AU - Plouffe, Rachel A.

AU - Nazarov, Anthony

AU - Forchuk, Callista A.

AU - Gargala, Dominic

AU - Deda, Erisa

AU - Le, Tri

AU - Bourret-Gheysen, Jesse

AU - Jackson, Brittni

AU - Soares, Vanessa

AU - Hosseiny, Fardous

AU - Smith, Patrick

AU - Roth, Maya

AU - MacDougall, Arlene G.

AU - Marlborough, Michelle

AU - Jetly, Rakesh

AU - Heber, Alexandra

AU - Albuquerque, Joy

AU - Lanius, Ruth

AU - Balderson, Ken

AU - Dupuis, Gabrielle

AU - Mehta, Viraj

AU - Richardson, J. Don

N1 - Copyright: © 2021 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Background: Research is urgently needed to understand health care workers’ (HCWs’) experiences of moral-ethical dilemmas encountered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and their associations with organizational perceptions and personal well-being. This research is important to prevent long-term moral and psychological distress and to ensure that workers can optimally provide health services.Objective: Evaluate associations between workplace experiences during COVID-19, moral distress, and the psychological well-being of Canadian HCWs. Method: A total of 1362 French- and English-speaking Canadian HCWs employed during the COVID-19 pandemic were recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants completed measures reflecting moral distress, perceptions of organizational response to the pandemic, burnout, and symptoms of psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Results: Structural equation modelling showed that when organizational predictors were considered together, resource adequacy, positive work life impact, and ethical work environment negatively predicted severity of moral distress, whereas COVID-19 risk perception positively predicted severity of moral distress. Moral distress also significantly and positively predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout.Conclusions: Our findings highlight an urgent need for HCW organizations to implement strategies designed to prevent long-term moral and psychological distress within the workplace. Ensuring availability of adequate resources, reducing HCW risk of contracting COVID-19, providing organizational support regarding individual priorities, and upholding ethical considerations are crucial to reducing severity of moral distress in HCWs.

AB - Background: Research is urgently needed to understand health care workers’ (HCWs’) experiences of moral-ethical dilemmas encountered throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and their associations with organizational perceptions and personal well-being. This research is important to prevent long-term moral and psychological distress and to ensure that workers can optimally provide health services.Objective: Evaluate associations between workplace experiences during COVID-19, moral distress, and the psychological well-being of Canadian HCWs. Method: A total of 1362 French- and English-speaking Canadian HCWs employed during the COVID-19 pandemic were recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants completed measures reflecting moral distress, perceptions of organizational response to the pandemic, burnout, and symptoms of psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).Results: Structural equation modelling showed that when organizational predictors were considered together, resource adequacy, positive work life impact, and ethical work environment negatively predicted severity of moral distress, whereas COVID-19 risk perception positively predicted severity of moral distress. Moral distress also significantly and positively predicted symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD, and burnout.Conclusions: Our findings highlight an urgent need for HCW organizations to implement strategies designed to prevent long-term moral and psychological distress within the workplace. Ensuring availability of adequate resources, reducing HCW risk of contracting COVID-19, providing organizational support regarding individual priorities, and upholding ethical considerations are crucial to reducing severity of moral distress in HCWs.

KW - anxiety

KW - COVID-19

KW - depressive disorders

KW - health care

KW - Moral distress

KW - organizational environment

KW - posttraumatic stress disorder

UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85119059467

U2 - 10.1080/20008198.2021.1984667

DO - 10.1080/20008198.2021.1984667

M3 - Article

C2 - 34777712

AN - SCOPUS:85119059467

SN - 2000-8198

VL - 12

JO - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

JF - European Journal of Psychotraumatology

IS - 1

M1 - 1984667

ER -