Moral distress in nurses in oncology and haematology units

Abstract

One of the difficulties nurses experience in clinical practice in relation to ethical issues in connection with young oncology patients is moral distress. In this descriptive correlational study, the Moral Distress Scale-Paediatric Version (MDS-PV) was translated from the original language and tested on a conventional sample of nurses working in paediatric oncology and haematology wards, in six north paediatric hospitals of Italy. 13.7% of the total respondents claimed that they had changed unit or hospital due to moral distress. The items with the highest mean intensity in the sample were almost all connected with medical and nursing competence and have considerably higher values than frequency. The instrument was found to be reliable. The results confirmed the validity of the MDS-PV (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.959). This study represents the first small-scale attempt to validate MDS-PV for use in paediatric oncology-ematology nurses in Italy.

Estratégias de enfrentamento por enfermeiros da oncologia na alta complexidade

“…Thus, a way to support the professionals to handle these confrontations is to create prevention strategies of moral suffering, and one way is through education and the development of ethical competence. This becomes important for both job satisfaction and availability in care and for retention of professionals in the workplace (17) .…”

Coping strategies of nurses in the care of patients with head and neck neoplasms

“…In the education of nurses, the care to patients with facial image alteration is conceived as a complex and impressive experience that may affect the care and interaction between nurse and patient. The care to head and neck cancer surgical patients is a potential threat to the physical and emotional balance of nurses (3)(4)(5)8) . The occupational reality requires the ability to adapt to stressing situations that require the development of a coping process (3)(4)(5)(6)8) .…”

“…The care to head and neck cancer surgical patients is a potential threat to the physical and emotional balance of nurses (3)(4)(5)8) . The occupational reality requires the ability to adapt to stressing situations that require the development of a coping process (3)(4)(5)(6)8) . These coping strategies are either learned and maintained or not throughout the life of an individual, depending on reinforcement schemes experienced during the professional history of the individual (2,8) , and they may be seen as a health protection factor for nurses inserted in the work context (9) .…”

“…This type of cancer requires adaptation and control strategies by health professionals, generating challenges for nurses as they constantly experience the suffering of patients (2)(3)(4)(5)(6)(7) . In the education of nurses, the care to patients with facial image alteration is conceived as a complex and impressive experience that may affect the care and interaction between nurse and patient.…”

Moral distress and the Australian aged care worker: A mixed methods study

“…Frequently, contemporary literature either explores moral distress using existing instruments (Kleinknecht-Dolf et al, 2014;Lazzarin, Biondi, & Di Mauro, 2012;Papathanassoglou et al, 2012) , or uses qualitative inquiry methods to further explicate understandings from different perspectives (Peter & Liaschenko, 2013;Pratt et al, 2013;Rushton et al, 2013a). Commonly this recent literature however does not add new understanding to the concept, primarily reinforcing known causes or effects of moral distress, or highlighting known conceptual discrepancies.…”