Exploring moral distress in the long-term care setting. 2006

Amy E Green, and Brenda Recchia Jeffers
Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA.

Moral distress has the potential to affect every practice setting in nursing; however little research has been conducted that examines the presence and impact of moral distress for nurses working in long-term care. This article reports the results of a pilot study that examined the experience and presence of moral distress of registered nurses in a long-term care setting. A convenience pilot sample of 6 nurses participated in audio-taped open-ended interviews. Interview questions were formulated using Corley's theory of moral distress as the theoretical framework. Findings indicated that nurses' experiences of moral distress were precipitated most often by disagreements with family regarding treatment decisions for residents that impacted quality of life and lack of resources to meet residents' assessed needs. Moral distress had both a positive and negative impact on nurses with nurses reporting that the presence of moral distress had little impact on the quality of care received by residents.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008134 Long-Term Care Care over an extended period, usually for a chronic condition or disability, requiring periodic, intermittent, or continuous care. Care, Long-Term,Long Term Care
D011568 Psychiatric Nursing A specialty concerned with the application of psychiatric principles in caring for the mentally ill. It also includes the nursing care provided the mentally ill patient. Mental Health Nursing,Nursing, Psychiatric,Psychosocial Nursing,Nursing, Mental Health,Nursing, Psychosocial
D011788 Quality of Life A generic concept reflecting concern with the modification and enhancement of life attributes, e.g., physical, political, moral, social environment as well as health and disease. HRQOL,Health-Related Quality Of Life,Life Quality,Health Related Quality Of Life
D005851 Geriatric Nursing Nursing care of the aged patient given in the home, the hospital, or special institutions such as nursing homes, psychiatric institutions, etc. Nursing, Geriatric,Geriatric Nursings,Nursings, Geriatric
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368 Aged A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available. Elderly
D012944 Social Support Support systems that provide assistance and encouragement to individuals with physical or emotional disabilities in order that they may better cope. Informal social support is usually provided by friends, relatives, or peers, while formal assistance such as COMMUNITY SUPPORT is provided by churches, groups, etc. Perceived Social Support,Social Care,Online Social Support,Care, Social,Online Social Supports,Perceived Social Supports,Social Support, Online,Social Support, Perceived,Social Supports, Online,Social Supports, Perceived,Support, Online Social,Support, Perceived Social,Support, Social,Supports, Perceived Social
D013315 Stress, Psychological Stress wherein emotional factors predominate. Cumulative Stress, Psychological,Emotional Stress,Individual Stressors,Life Stress,Psychological Cumulative Stress,Psychological Stress Experience,Psychological Stress Overload,Psychologically Stressful Conditions,Stress Experience, Psychological,Stress Measurement, Psychological,Stress Overload, Psychological,Stress Processes, Psychological,Stress, Emotional,Stressful Conditions, Psychological,Psychological Stress,Stress, Psychologic,Stressor, Psychological,Condition, Psychological Stressful,Condition, Psychologically Stressful,Conditions, Psychologically Stressful,Cumulative Stresses, Psychological,Experience, Psychological Stress,Individual Stressor,Life Stresses,Measurement, Psychological Stress,Overload, Psychological Stress,Psychologic Stress,Psychological Cumulative Stresses,Psychological Stress Experiences,Psychological Stress Measurement,Psychological Stress Measurements,Psychological Stress Overloads,Psychological Stress Processe,Psychological Stress Processes,Psychological Stresses,Psychological Stressful Condition,Psychological Stressful Conditions,Psychological Stressor,Psychological Stressors,Psychologically Stressful Condition,Stress Experiences, Psychological,Stress Processe, Psychological,Stress, Life,Stress, Psychological Cumulative,Stressful Condition, Psychological,Stressful Condition, Psychologically,Stressor, Individual

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