Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic
IntroductionRespiratory therapists (RTs) faced morally distressing situations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including working with limited resources and facilitating video calls for families of dying patients. Moral distress is associated with a host of adverse psychological an...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Health Agency of Canada
2023-11-01
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| Series: | Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada |
| Online Access: | https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-43-no-10-11-2023/canadian-respiratory-therapists-leaving-clinical-position-moral-distress-adverse-psychological-functional-outcomes-covid-19-pandemic.html |
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| author | Andrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe Kimberly Ritchie Andrea Brown Bethany Easterbrook Yuanxin Xue Mina Pichtikova Max Altman Isaac Beech Heather Millman Fatima Foster Kelly Hassall Yarden Levy David L. Streiner Fardous Hosseiny Sara Rodrigues Alexandra Heber Charlene O’Connor Hugo Schielke Ann Malain Randi E. McCabe Ruth A. Lanius Margaret C. McKinnon |
| author_facet | Andrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe Kimberly Ritchie Andrea Brown Bethany Easterbrook Yuanxin Xue Mina Pichtikova Max Altman Isaac Beech Heather Millman Fatima Foster Kelly Hassall Yarden Levy David L. Streiner Fardous Hosseiny Sara Rodrigues Alexandra Heber Charlene O’Connor Hugo Schielke Ann Malain Randi E. McCabe Ruth A. Lanius Margaret C. McKinnon |
| author_sort | Andrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
IntroductionRespiratory therapists (RTs) faced morally distressing situations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including working with limited resources and facilitating video calls for families of dying patients. Moral distress is associated with a host of adverse psychological and functional outcomes (e.g. depression, anxiety, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and functional impairment) and consideration of position departure. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of moral distress and its associated psychological and functional outcomes on consideration to leave a clinical position among Canadian RTs during the COVID-19 pandemic.
MethodsCanadian RTs (N = 213) completed an online survey between February and June 2021. Basic demographic information (e.g. age, sex, gender) and psychometrically validated measures of moral distress, depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, dissociation, functional impairment, resilience and adverse childhood experiences were collected.
ResultsOne in four RTs reported considering leaving their position. RTs considering leaving reported elevated levels of moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes compared to RTs not considering leaving. Over half (54.5%) of those considering leaving scored above the cut-off for potential diagnosis of PTSD. Previous consideration to leave a position and having left a position in the past each significantly increased the odds of currently considering leaving, along with system-related moral distress and symptoms of PTSD, but the contribution of these latter factors was small.
ConclusionCanadian RTs considering leaving their position reported elevated levels of distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes, yet these individual-level factors appear unlikely to be the primary factors underlying RTs’ consideration to leave, because their effects were small. Further research is required to identify broader, organizational factors that may contribute to consideration of position departure among Canadian RTs. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:43:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3435a001097540f18557754e46f20ab3 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2368-738X |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T06:43:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-11-01 |
| publisher | Public Health Agency of Canada |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada |
| spelling | doaj.art-3435a001097540f18557754e46f20ab32023-11-22T17:27:50ZengPublic Health Agency of CanadaHealth Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada2368-738X2023-11-014310/1146047110.24095/hpcdp.43.10/11.04Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemicAndrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe0Kimberly Ritchie1Andrea Brown2Bethany Easterbrook3Yuanxin Xue4Mina Pichtikova5Max Altman6Isaac Beech7Heather Millman8Fatima Foster9Kelly Hassall10Yarden Levy11David L. Streiner12Fardous Hosseiny13Sara Rodrigues14Alexandra Heber15Charlene O’Connor16Hugo Schielke17Ann Malain18Randi E. McCabe19Ruth A. Lanius20Margaret C. McKinnon21McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaSt. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaSt. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaAtlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaAtlas Institute for Veterans and Families, Ottawa, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaHomewood Health Centre, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaHomewood Health Centre, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaHomewood Health Centre, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, CanadaHomewood Research Institute, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaMcMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada IntroductionRespiratory therapists (RTs) faced morally distressing situations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, including working with limited resources and facilitating video calls for families of dying patients. Moral distress is associated with a host of adverse psychological and functional outcomes (e.g. depression, anxiety, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder [PTSD] and functional impairment) and consideration of position departure. The purpose of this study was to understand the impact of moral distress and its associated psychological and functional outcomes on consideration to leave a clinical position among Canadian RTs during the COVID-19 pandemic. MethodsCanadian RTs (N = 213) completed an online survey between February and June 2021. Basic demographic information (e.g. age, sex, gender) and psychometrically validated measures of moral distress, depression, anxiety, stress, PTSD, dissociation, functional impairment, resilience and adverse childhood experiences were collected. ResultsOne in four RTs reported considering leaving their position. RTs considering leaving reported elevated levels of moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes compared to RTs not considering leaving. Over half (54.5%) of those considering leaving scored above the cut-off for potential diagnosis of PTSD. Previous consideration to leave a position and having left a position in the past each significantly increased the odds of currently considering leaving, along with system-related moral distress and symptoms of PTSD, but the contribution of these latter factors was small. ConclusionCanadian RTs considering leaving their position reported elevated levels of distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes, yet these individual-level factors appear unlikely to be the primary factors underlying RTs’ consideration to leave, because their effects were small. Further research is required to identify broader, organizational factors that may contribute to consideration of position departure among Canadian RTs.https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-43-no-10-11-2023/canadian-respiratory-therapists-leaving-clinical-position-moral-distress-adverse-psychological-functional-outcomes-covid-19-pandemic.html |
| spellingShingle | Andrea M. D’Alessandro-Lowe Kimberly Ritchie Andrea Brown Bethany Easterbrook Yuanxin Xue Mina Pichtikova Max Altman Isaac Beech Heather Millman Fatima Foster Kelly Hassall Yarden Levy David L. Streiner Fardous Hosseiny Sara Rodrigues Alexandra Heber Charlene O’Connor Hugo Schielke Ann Malain Randi E. McCabe Ruth A. Lanius Margaret C. McKinnon Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic Health Promotion and Chronic Disease Prevention in Canada |
| title | Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | Canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | canadian respiratory therapists who considered leaving their clinical position experienced elevated moral distress and adverse psychological and functional outcomes during the covid 19 pandemic |
| url | https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/reports-publications/health-promotion-chronic-disease-prevention-canada-research-policy-practice/vol-43-no-10-11-2023/canadian-respiratory-therapists-leaving-clinical-position-moral-distress-adverse-psychological-functional-outcomes-covid-19-pandemic.html |
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