Biomaterial Database

Navigating the Dangerous Terrain of Moral Distress: Understanding Response Patterns in the NICU. 2018

Sally Thorne, and Laura Konikoff, and Helen Brown, and Susan Albersheim

1 The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Moral distress is a well-recognized and ubiquitous aspect of health care professional practice in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) context. We used interpretive description methodology to guide a critical exploration of the dynamics of moral distress experience as reflected in the accounts of 28 health care professionals working in this setting. We learned about the kinds of clinical scenarios which triggered distressing experiences, and that the organizational and relational context of clinical work constituted a complex and dynamic working environment that profoundly affected both the individual and the collective experiences with moral distress in these situations. These findings shed light on possibilities for supporting NICU practitioners and developing the collaborative team cultures that may reduce the risk of unresolved effects of moral distress to the benefit of patients as well as the professionals who care for them.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D007363	Intensive Care Units, Neonatal	Hospital units providing continuing surveillance and care to acutely ill newborn infants.	Neonatal Intensive Care Unit,Neonatal Intensive Care Units,Newborn Intensive Care Unit,Newborn Intensive Care Units,ICU, Neonatal,Neonatal ICU,Newborn ICU,Newborn Intensive Care Units (NICU),ICU, Newborn,ICUs, Neonatal,ICUs, Newborn,Neonatal ICUs,Newborn ICUs
D007398	Interpersonal Relations	The reciprocal interaction of two or more persons.	Social Relationships,Husband-Wife Communication,Partner Communication,Communication, Husband-Wife,Communication, Partner,Husband Wife Communication,Husband-Wife Communications,Interpersonal Relation,Partner Communications,Relation, Interpersonal,Relationship, Social,Social Relationship
D007407	Interviews as Topic	Works about conversations with an individual or individuals held in order to obtain information about their background and other personal biographical data, their attitudes and opinions, etc. It includes works about school admission or job interviews.	Group Interviews,Interviewers,Interviews, Telephone,Oral History as Topic,Group Interview,Interview, Group,Interview, Telephone,Interviewer,Interviews, Group,Telephone Interview,Telephone Interviews
D009014	Morals	Standards of conduct that distinguish right from wrong.	Morality
D003299	Cooperative Behavior	The interaction of two or more persons or organizations directed toward a common goal which is mutually beneficial. An act or instance of working or acting together for a common purpose or benefit, i.e., joint action. (From Random House Dictionary Unabridged, 2d ed)	Compliant Behavior,Behavior, Compliant,Behavior, Cooperative,Compliant Behaviors,Cooperative Behaviors
D006282	Health Personnel	Men and women working in the provision of health services, whether as individual practitioners or employees of health institutions and programs, whether or not professionally trained, and whether or not subject to public regulation. (From A Discursive Dictionary of Health Care, 1976)	Health Care Professionals,Health Care Providers,Healthcare Providers,Healthcare Workers,Health Care Professional,Health Care Provider,Healthcare Provider,Healthcare Worker,Personnel, Health,Professional, Health Care,Provider, Health Care,Provider, Healthcare
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000073397	Occupational Stress	Adverse psychological and behavioral reactions caused by the pressures and demands of employers or clients or other factors, such as the physical environment of the workplace, WORKPLACE VIOLENCE; or WORKPLACE BULLYING.	Job Control,Job Demands,Work Stress,Workplace Abuse,Job Stress,Job-related Stress,Professional Stress,Work Place Stress,Work-related Stress,Workplace Bullying,Workplace Stress,Abuse, Workplace,Bullying, Workplace,Demand, Job,Job Demand,Job Stresses,Job related Stress,Job-related Stresses,Occupational Stresses,Professional Stresses,Stress, Job,Stress, Job-related,Stress, Occupational,Stress, Professional,Stress, Work,Stress, Work Place,Stress, Work-related,Stress, Workplace,Stresses, Workplace,Work Place Stresses,Work Stresses,Work related Stress,Work-related Stresses,Workplace Abuses,Workplace Stresses
D000223	Adaptation, Psychological	A state of harmony between internal needs and external demands and the processes used in achieving this condition. (From APA Thesaurus of Psychological Index Terms, 8th ed).	Behavior, Adaptive,Healthy Adaptation,Positive Adaptation,Psychological Recovery,Adaptation, Psychologic,Adjustment,Psychological Adaptation,Adaptation, Healthy,Adaptation, Positive,Adaptive Behavior,Adaptive Behaviors,Healthy Adaptations,Positive Adaptations,Psychologic Adaptation,Psychological Recoveries,Recovery, Psychological