Moral Distress and Moral Injury in Military Healthcare Clinicians : A Scoping Review

Introduction
Healthcare clinicians are often at risk of psychological distress due to the nature of their occupation. Military healthcare providers are at risk for additional psychological suffering related to unique moral and ethical situations encountered in military service. This scoping review identifies key characteristics of moral distress and moral injury and how these concepts relate to the military healthcare clinician who is both a care provider and service member.
 

Morally injurious events and depression : Examining the role of rumination among combat-deployed military veterans in the community

While depression remains a common psychological disorder among combat military veterans, there is a need to investigate factors that relate to the development and maintenance of this disorder. Potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), perceived transgressions against one’s moral code, are associated with depression. This relationship may be influenced by the level of engagement in brooding rumination.

 

The role of guilt-shame proneness and locus of control in predicting moral injury among healthcare professionals

Despite the advances in studies conducted among healthcare professionals to explore the impact of the pandemic on their mental health, a large population still continues to display COVID-19 related psychological complaints. There has been recent awareness of moral injury related guilt and shame among doctors and nurses. However, the factors associated with moral injury have not received much attention, due to which the issue still persists. This study aims to explore the role of guilt-shame proneness, and locus of control in predicting moral injury among healthcare professionals.

Moral conflict in a (post)war story : Narrative as enactment of and reflection on moral injury

This article examines the discursive construction of moral conflict in a military veteran's (post)war story. By closely examining the linguistic details of a single veteran's narrative of war, this article addresses how moral conflict is revealed in shifts among varying modes of morality: from the conventional moral dispositions of the military, in which soldiers are socialized into acting, often violently and without reflection, to conscious ethical reasoning, which soldiers have historically been socialized not to engage in.

 

Examining moral injury in clinical practice : A narrative literature review

Healthcare workers experience moral injury (MI), a violation of their moral code due to circumstances beyond their control. MI threatens the healthcare workforce in all settings and leads to medical errors, depression/anxiety, and personal and occupational dysfunction, significantly affecting job satisfaction and retention.

 

Moral injury and its mental health consequences among protesters : findings from Israel’s civil protest against the government's judicial reform

Background: Government actions and participating in protracted-duration protests against it affect protesters' mental health, leading to high distress levels, such as posttraumatic and depressive symptoms. Aside from exposure to violence and other issues, protest participation can pose unique challenges to the protesters as they may be exposed to potentially morally injurious events (PMIEs), such as the betrayal of leaders they once trusted.

Moral injury among first responders : Experience, effects, and advice in their own words

Moral injury is a serious concern among first responders. Not only does moral injury occur with notable frequency among first response groups such as police, fire safety, and emergency medical personnel, but it also poses considerable mental health challenges. Despite a recent explosion of research on moral injury, the literature would benefit from a systematic investigation of how first responders describe their experiences in their own words. We conducted semistructured interviews with 36 graduates of a first responder trauma healing course.

 

Moral Distress, Conscientious Practice, and the Endurance of Ethics in Health Care through Times of Crisis and Calm

When health professionals experience moral distress during routine clinical practice, they are challenged to maintain integrity through conscientious practice guided by ethical principles and virtues that promote the dignity of all human beings who need care. Their integrity also needs preservation during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic, especially when faced with triage protocols that allocate scarce resources.

Measuring moral distress and moral injury : A systematic review and content analysis of existing scales

Background

Moral distress (MD) and moral injury (MI) are related constructs describing the negative consequences of morally challenging stressors. Despite growing support for the clinical relevance of these constructs, ongoing challenges regarding measurement quality risk limiting research and clinical advances. This study summarizes the nature, quality, and utility of existing MD and MI scales, and provides recommendations for future use.

 

Method

Associations between International Trauma Questionnaire complex posttraumatic stress disorder symptom clusters and moral injury in a sample of U.K. treatment-seeking veterans : A network approach

Objective: Complex posttraumatic stress disorder (CPTSD) and moral injury are receiving increasing empirical attention. The network approach offers a novel method to understand the association between such mental health constructs.

 

Pages