Always a burden? Healthcare providers' perspectives on moral distress

Abstract

Background Current conceptualisations of moral distress largely portray a negative phenomenon that leads to burnout, reduced job satisfaction and poor patient care. Objective To explore clinical experiences, perspectives and perceptions of moral distress in neonatology. Design An anonymous questionnaire was distributed to medical and nursing providers within two tertiary level neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) - one surgical and one perinatal - seeking their understanding of the term and their experience of it. Open-ended questions were analysed using qualitative methodology. Results A total of 345 healthcare providers from two NICUs participated (80% response rate): 286 nurses and 59 me..