IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v20y2023i13p6300-d1187106.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Association of Moral Injury and Healthcare Clinicians’ Wellbeing: A Systematic Review

Author

Listed:
  • Pari Shah Thibodeau

    (Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80210, USA)

  • Aela Nash

    (Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80210, USA)

  • Jennifer C. Greenfield

    (Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80210, USA)

  • Jennifer L. Bellamy

    (Graduate School of Social Work, University of Denver, 2148 S. High Street, Denver, CO 80210, USA)

Abstract

Research focused on elucidating moral injury amongst healthcare workers (HCWs) is essential due to the deep connection with morality and individuals’ overall wellbeing. Examining moral injury provides an avenue through which researchers can connect individual experiences with systemic level causes (i.e., structural power imbalances between clinicians and health systems) to better study workplace wellbeing. The omnipresence of the COVID-19 pandemic has amplified the need to study moral injury. This paper describes a systematic review conducted using PRISMA-P guidelines to answer the question, “what is the association between moral injury and professional wellbeing and mental health amongst healthcare workers.” Twelve databases were searched to identify specified studies. This study’s criteria included: (1) articles published through December 2022; (2) qualitative and quantitative empirical studies; (3) articles written in English; (4) articles including moral injury; and (5) articles including at minimum one other measure of professional or personal wellbeing. The initial search produced 248 articles, and 18 articles were ultimately included in the final review. To confirm that no articles were left out of this study, the first author of each included article was contacted to inquire about any additional works that met the inclusion criteria of this study. The elements of the 18 included articles described in this review are discussed. The results indicate that moral injury is associated with both professional wellbeing factors and mental health outcomes. Further theoretical development, including (professional- and identity-based) exploratory research on moral injury, and evidenced-based interventions for moral injury are needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Pari Shah Thibodeau & Aela Nash & Jennifer C. Greenfield & Jennifer L. Bellamy, 2023. "The Association of Moral Injury and Healthcare Clinicians’ Wellbeing: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-21, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:13:p:6300-:d:1187106
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6300/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/20/13/6300/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Stella E. Hines & Katherine H. Chin & Danielle R. Glick & Emerson M. Wickwire, 2021. "Trends in Moral Injury, Distress, and Resilience Factors among Healthcare Workers at the Beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(2), pages 1-11, January.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicola Magnavita & Paolo Maurizio Soave & Massimo Antonelli, 2021. "Prolonged Stress Causes Depression in Frontline Workers Facing the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Repeated Cross-Sectional Study in a COVID-19 Hub-Hospital in Central Italy," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(14), pages 1-13, July.
    2. Shan Parker & Vicki Johnson-Lawrence, 2022. "Addressing Trauma-Informed Principles in Public Health through Training and Practice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(14), pages 1-14, July.
    3. Natasha Smallwood & Amy Pascoe & Leila Karimi & Marie Bismark & Karen Willis, 2021. "Occupational Disruptions during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Their Association with Healthcare Workers’ Mental Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-14, September.
    4. Tuyet-Mai H. Hoang & Wan-Jung Hsieh & B. Andi Lee & Kaylee Marie Lukacena & Karen M. Tabb, 2022. "Navigating Pregnancy and the Healthcare System during COVID-19: A Qualitative Study with Perinatal Women of Color," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(20), pages 1-13, October.
    5. Bram P. I. Fleuren & Lieze T. Poesen & Rachel E. Gifford & Fred R. H. Zijlstra & Dirk Ruwaard & Frank C. van de Baan & Daan D. Westra, 2021. "We’re Not Gonna Fall: Depressive Complaints, Personal Resilience, Team Social Climate, and Worries about Infections among Hospital Workers during a Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(9), pages 1-14, April.
    6. Georgia Libera Finstad & Gabriele Giorgi & Lucrezia Ginevra Lulli & Caterina Pandolfi & Giulia Foti & José M. León-Perez & Francisco J. Cantero-Sánchez & Nicola Mucci, 2021. "Resilience, Coping Strategies and Posttraumatic Growth in the Workplace Following COVID-19: A Narrative Review on the Positive Aspects of Trauma," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(18), pages 1-25, September.
    7. Priya-Lena Riedel & Alexander Kreh & Vanessa Kulcar & Angela Lieber & Barbara Juen, 2022. "A Scoping Review of Moral Stressors, Moral Distress and Moral Injury in Healthcare Workers during COVID-19," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-20, February.
    8. Davis Cooper-Bribiesca & Dulce María Rascón-Martínez & José Adan Miguel-Puga & María Karen Juárez-Carreón & Luis Alejandro Sánchez-Hurtado & Tania Colin-Martinez & Juan Carlos Anda-Garay & Eliseo Espi, 2023. "Physicians’ Distress Related to Moral Issues and Mental Health In-Between Two Late Waves of COVID-19 Contagions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(5), pages 1-19, February.
    9. Mihaela Alexandra Gherman & Laura Arhiri & Andrei Corneliu Holman & Camelia Soponaru, 2022. "The Moral Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Nurses’ Burnout, Work Satisfaction and Adaptive Work Performance: The Role of Autobiographical Memories of Potentially Morally Injurious Events and Basic P," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(13), pages 1-22, June.
    10. O-Jay B. Jimenez & Sheilla M. Trajera & Gregory S. Ching, 2022. "Providing End-of-Life Care to COVID-19 Patients: The Lived Experiences of ICU Nurses in the Philippines," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(19), pages 1-21, October.
    11. Holly Blake & Alisha Gupta & Mahnoor Javed & Ben Wood & Steph Knowles & Emma Coyne & Joanne Cooper, 2021. "COVID-Well Study: Qualitative Evaluation of Supported Wellbeing Centres and Psychological First Aid for Healthcare Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-27, March.
    12. Natasha Smallwood & Amy Pascoe & Leila Karimi & Karen Willis, 2021. "Moral Distress and Perceived Community Views Are Associated with Mental Health Symptoms in Frontline Health Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(16), pages 1-15, August.
    13. Teresa Matarazzo & Francesca Bravi & Giorgia Valpiani & Chiara Morotti & Francesca Martino & Sandra Bombardi & Michela Bozzolan & Elda Longhitano & Paola Bardasi & De Vogli Roberto & Tiziano Carradori, 2021. "CORONAcrisis—An Observational Study on the Experience of Healthcare Professionals in a University Hospital during a Pandemic Emergency," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(8), pages 1-13, April.
    14. Stokar, Yaffa Naomi, 2024. "Sense of failure in end of life care: Perspectives from physicians and nurses," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 348(C).
    15. Jonathan Tran & Karen Willis & Margaret Kay & Kathryn Hutt & Natasha Smallwood, 2022. "The Workplace and Psychosocial Experiences of Australian Senior Doctors during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(5), pages 1-16, March.
    16. Esther Alonso-Prieto & Holly Longstaff & Agnes Black & Alice K. Virani, 2022. "COVID-19 Outbreak: Understanding Moral-Distress Experiences Faced by Healthcare Workers in British Columbia, Canada," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(15), pages 1-14, August.
    17. Andrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe & Mauda Karram & Kim Ritchie & Andrea Brown & Heather Millman & Emily Sullo & Yuanxin Xue & Mina Pichtikova & Hugo Schielke & Ann Malain & Charlene O’Connor & Ruth Lanius &, 2023. "Coping, Supports and Moral Injury: Spiritual Well-Being and Organizational Support Are Associated with Reduced Moral Injury in Canadian Healthcare Providers during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(19), pages 1-17, September.
    18. Katherine Petrie & Natasha Smallwood & Amy Pascoe & Karen Willis, 2022. "Mental Health Symptoms and Workplace Challenges among Australian Paramedics during the COVID-19 Pandemic," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(2), pages 1-15, January.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:20:y:2023:i:13:p:6300-:d:1187106. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.